The Reign of Courage
by The TurquoiseCow
Summary: SEQUEL to the Dark Bandit. One of Taichi's friends is in danger... Is the Reign of Courage doomed before it begins? COMPLETE 04-06-02 [Added Part Thirteen: It Begins]
1. The Summer of the Airdramon

The Reign of Courage 

Chapter One: The Summer of the Airdramon

***

Remember: Only the plot is mine…. don't steal it!

***

The sun was beginning to show its strength, and the mid summer day was fairly warm. Miyako Inoue and her partner, Hawkmon, were enjoying the pleasant weather to the best of their ability. Miyako was wearing an old dress and picking berries and fruits from the trees and plants that surrounded her family's manor. Barefoot, the youngest daughter of the Lord and Lady Inoue reveled in the freedom of the summer as she walked through the grounds. The freedom of the summer and the freedom of being sixteen and therefore still young enough to do things like enjoy the summer.  Hawkmon soared overhead, keeping a lookout for danger and enjoying the cool breezes blow through his wings.

She was perched in the higher branches of an tall tree around midday, munching some fruit, when she spotted the carriage lumbering up from the village near her family's estate. Hawkmon spotted it before her, but as soon as she saw it, Miyako nearly jumped right out of the tree. 

Luckily, Hawkmon managed to calm her down, otherwise the girl would have fallen right out of the tree. By the time she managed to recover herself, the carriage had stopped. Miyako watched in eager anticipation as the door opened. 

"Hello Miyako!" the girl who exited the carriage called up into the tree, and Miyako nearly fell out of the tree in surprise. 

"Momoe! What are you doing here?" Miyako questioned. 

Her older sister, who looked quite a bit like Miyako, only with shorter hair, waved up into the tree with a grin. She carried a small, sleeping Terriermon in her arms. She was, after all, only eighteen years of age, even though she had been married for the past two years. "Visiting!" she replied cheerfully. 

Miyako made her way safely and carefully down the tree. "I didn't know you were coming," she confessed once she had reached the bottom. 

Momoe shrugged complacently. "I guess Mama didn't tell you then. I wrote home about a month ago in planning." 

"Oh," Miyako realized then. "I wasn't home." 

Now it was Momoe's turn to look surprised. "Where were you?" 

"At the palace," the younger sister replied complacently. She turned to walk back to the manor. 

"You?" Momoe repeated. She hurried after her sister. "Miyako, you haven't been to the palace since you were very young! 

Not since -." She broke off and shrugged. 

"Not since what?" 

The elder sister pretended not to have heard. "Why did you go to the palace?" she asked instead. 

"Princess Hikari's birthday party," Miyako replied, brushing off the question. "Since what, Momoe?" 

"How was it?" Momoe again ignored the question. 

"It was cancelled. What happened? Why did we stop going when I was little? What did Mama and Papa do to anger the King?" 

Momoe paused in her walking. "Who told you that?" 

Miyako shrugged, stopping as well and turning back to her sister. "Nobody. I just assumed." 

"How could you assume something like that?" 

"Well, if the King is after your head, you assume that your parents can't been in great standing. I know I didn't anger him personally, so I figured Mama or Papa must have." The younger sister took a bite of the fruit she carried and chewed casually. 

Momoe could only blink in surprise. "The King is after your head?" 

"Was," Hawkmon corrected from beside his partner. "He can't be after anyone now, I'm afraid." 

"It's a long story," Miyako brushed her sister's surprise aside as easily as she tossed the fruit seeds aside. "Can you tell me what happened between our parents and the King?" 

"I'm not sure exactly," Momoe confessed. "I was pretty young then, too, remember." 

"You know more than I do," Miyako reminded her. 

"Yes, that's true. Well, it seems that when we were very young our parents and the King and Queen were close friends. There was always some – tension between them, however." 

"What sort of tension?" 

"Well, Papa suspected nothing, but it seems the King was in love with our Mama." 

"Mama?" Miyako was glad she had stopped eating, because she might have chocked on the fruit.

Momoe nodded, continuing: "The King was able to hold off his affections for a period of time, but eventually, it seems, he was so frustrated that he finally told Mother." 

"What happened?" 

"The Queen and Papa knew nothing of this, of course. But it seems that the King – well – he made a proposal to Mama. Told her that if she would leave Papa and live with him, he'd make her Queen. He said that he would find a way to deal with his own wife."

Miyako could only stare at her sister, eyes wide in interest and suspense. 

"Mama refused, of course, because she had four children and a life with Papa and wasn't really interested in becoming Queen. She had a friendship with the Queen, and didn't want to ruin their relationship at any rate." 

"Was the King mad?" Miyako wondered, although she assumed he must have been. 

"He was," Momoe replied with a vicious nod. "He was so angry he prepared to have Papa sent off to war. This was when he was still young and could afford to do that. The kingdom was at war then, and could always use new soldiers. He figured, I suppose, that if Papa was sent to war and killed Mama would have no way to refuse him." 

"Oh my!" 

"Mama caught wind of the plan. She told Papa what had happened. He was nervous, worried, afraid, but what could he do against a King's orders? Finally, Mama confronted him. She told him she would not, under any circumstances, abandon her husband and family, and that sending him off to war would be pointless. The King _finally_ was made to see reason. He agreed to let Papa live, if only they would promise to not be seen in his court ever again." 

"So they moved here and never went back," Miyako finished. "Wow."

"Precisely. But – what's this you tell me about the Princess' birthday party being cancelled?" 

"That's an exciting story, Momoe. I'll tell you all of it after we've gone in to see Papa and Mama. I'm sure they'll be very excited to see you. And where is Nouka?" 

Nouka was the name of Momoe's young husband. "Busy, I'm afraid," Momoe replied. "But I have exciting news for you and our parents, too. I'll tell you all at dinner." The two sisters began to walk towards the house. 

"I was hoping you would be Sora," Miyako confessed. "She's supposed to return any day now." 

"Don't tell me – she's at the palace, isn't she?" Momoe asked with a wink. When Miyako confirmed it, she smiled knowingly. "I wouldn't be surprised if she and that Prince of hers ended up married some day." 

Miyako blinked. "Sora? As a Queen?" she chuckled slightly. "I can't imagine it." 

She's attached to him, isn't she?" 

"Oh yes," Miyako had to agree with that. "Very attached. I don't know if their friendship runs that deep, though." She frowned in thought for a moment. 

"Speaking of marriage, when do you plan on getting hitched, little sister?" Momoe joked, sending another mischievous wink at her sister. 

"I'm only sixteen!" Miyako reminded her, even though Momoe had been married at that age. "I think I'll wait a bit." 

"Any one in mind?" Momoe questioned, lowering her voice and whispering in her sister's ear. 

"Oh – one or two," Miyako replied with a  mysterious smile, but refused to say more on the subject.

***

As it turned out, Sora returned home a few hours later, and, as a welcome – home  celebration for both her and Momoe, a large dinner was served in the dining hall of the manor. Miyako, her parents, Momoe, Sora, and Lady Takenouchi sat around the large table, eagerly talking about the upcoming coronation. 

"It's all coming along fabulously," Sora reported, having just returned from the palace. "Taichi's nervous as anything, of course, and everyone there is worked to the bone with all they have to do, but I really think it'll all go over well. Mimi's working very hard and she's driving everyone else crazy." 

"I can't wait," Momoe agreed. "I haven't seen a coronation since – oh , who am I kidding, I've never seen one. It sounds like a fabulous party." 

"They usually are," Miyako's mother agreed. "I was at one many years ago, but I hardly remember it. I'm sure Taichi will make a wonderful King." 

"I'll be glad to go, too," Momoe stated. "A good chance to go to the palace. I haven't been there in a many years. I could use a vacation." 

"Momoe, didn't you say you had some exciting news, didn't you?" Miyako questioned. 

Momoe nodded eagerly and set her food aside. "Mother, Father, I have an important announcement to make. It's why I came all the way out here. I wanted to give it to you in person." 

"What's the big news?" Miyako's father questioned. 

"I'm going to have a baby." 

***

"I can't believe I'm going to be an Aunt," Miyako commented to Sora as they rode the carriage a few days later to the palace.

Sora laughed. "You've only told me that about seventeen times since the announcement," she reminded her friend. 

"I know, and I still can't get used to it," Miyako answered. "I mean, Momoe's the youngest to be married, but the first to have a baby!" 

"So many exciting things happening," Piyomon agreed. 

"I know," Miyako nodded. "I can't believe I'm going to a real coronation. And that Mother and Father are coming, too!" 

"It's going to be really fabulous," Sora agreed. She spoke calmly, but Miyako knew that she was really jumping up and down in eager anticipation. 

Miyako was about to comment when suddenly the carriage came to a sudden stop. Piyomon and Hawkmon rose to the air, but were violently tossed into the walls. The two human passengers were tossed to the floor. 

Sora picked herself up and managed to open the door. "What's going on?" Miyako heard her shout to the driver of the cart. A few seconds later, she cried out in surprise. 

Miyako and the two digimon climbed out of the carriage to see what had astonished her. No explanation was necessary. 

The two carriages, containing Miyako and Sora, and their parents and Momoe, were halted in the middle of what was seemingly an empty field. Flying overhead were a half-dozen angry-looking digimon.

"Airdramon," Piyomon squeaked in surprise. 

Miyako squinted into the sky and saw that each was controlled by a human rider. "They managed to tame them?" she wondered. 

"Probably," Hawkmon agreed. "They're too powerful to have for a partner." 

"Why would you want to tame an Airdramon?" 

"Transportation, probably," Sora explained. "But they're really difficult.  Intelligent, but bad-tempered. I've only seen a few – never this many together in one place before." 

Miyako glanced around and saw that the riders of the other carriage were sticking their heads out the windows, and that her father had exited the cart, his  Muchomon following bravely behind. The brightly colored bird blinked up at the flying Airdramon for a few moments, also astonished by their presence. 

It was still uncertain what had caused the jolting stop. Suddenly, one of the Airdramon flew quite close to the ground. As it zoomed past, Miyako could see its rider, positioned dangerously upon its head. '_Why is he standing?' _she found herself wondering. 

"Spinning Needle!" the Airdramon called out its attack as it zoomed past.  Immediately, Miyako and Hawkmon dived back into the carriage where they might be safe. Sora only stared in shock as the giant flying digimon flew over the carriage which contained her mother. 

"No!" she shouted, suddenly called to action. Her mother must not be hurt. Her only  living relative. "Mother!" she shouted. 

Even inside the carriage, Miyako could hear the high pitched noise that was coming from somewhere. "Piyomon evolve!" 

The bright white light blocked everyone's vision for a few moments. Through the squealing from her digivice, Sora heard the familiar cry of "Birdramon!" 

A moment later, the huge fiery bird was soaring overhead. "Meteor Wing!" Birdramon called, sending huge fireballs from the tips of her wings. The  Airdramon scattered. 

Miyako peered out from the carriage again. "She evolved?" she whispered. "I thought –."

"-that we could only evolve if we were in danger," Sora finished. She shook her head blankly. "I don't understand either." 

"Spinning Needle," another Airdramon shouted. 

"Meteor Wing!" 

The Airdramon's rider felt unsteady as it turned to avoid the fiery attack. It fell to the ground from a very high altitude. 

"No!" Sora shouted. She shut her eyes and turned away. Miyako and Hawkmon only stared in shock.

"Sticky Net!" another voice called out. Instantaneously, a net formed underneath where the rider was about to fall. It was held in place by the strength of one small Wormmon. 

Miyako repressed the cry of surprise. She had a good feeling who that Wormmon was partnered with. Before she could say or do anything, however, the rider fell harmlessly to the ground, still wrapped in the sticky netting, and the Wormmon had disappeared. 

"That was strange," Sora commented, relieved that the rider had not been killed. 

***

A few minutes later, most of the Airdramon and their riders had been driven away, and Birdramon had de-evolved back into Piyomon. 

"How did that happen?" Sora questioned her partner. "I thought you could only evolve if I was in danger." 

"Well, you were, sort of," Piyomon reminded her. Then she shrugged. "I don't know why I evolved," she explained. "I just know that I did." 

"Well, it was lucky that you did," Hawkmon noted. "Otherwise the rest of us would have been in real danger." 

Miyako's parents and Sora's mother were questioning the rider of the Airdramon, who was still bound in the sticky ropes that the Wormmon had released. He was also being quite uncooperative.

"I still wonder where that Wormmon came from," Momoe wondered. 

"He seemed to come out of nowhere just in time. I wonder where he went," her Terriermon agreed. 

"I'm just glad he did," Sora said in relief. "I don't want to be responsible for anyone dying like that." 

A short period of time later, they were back on the road, with the Airdramon rider tied and bound to the roof of one of the carriages. Thanks to the delay, they would now most likely have to stop for the night and would not arrive until morning. 

***

It was late. Moonlight barely filtered in through the manor windows as Daisuke climbed the stairs to his bedroom. Even his loyal digimon, V-mon, had deserted him in favor of some rest. 

Daisuke had stayed up late, reading over his father's old books, and his head was now filled with ancient digimon stories. He had read until his eyes were too tired to decipher the whirling symbols on the pages into words any longer. Now, exhausted, he swung open the door to his personal bedchamber, eager to get some sleep. 

There was a scream the moment the door was fully opened. Before Daisuke had a chance to react, he found himself flung forcefully to the floor. The candle he carried went out, and he was plunged into complete darkness. 

"What?" he managed to splutter. He tried to gain his feet, but something heavy was holding him down. "Hey! This is **_my_ **room!" he shouted in protest.

There was a scuffling noise somewhere in the room, and a dim light flickered on the edges of his vision. 

"Daisuke!" a very familiar female voice gasped. He struggled to place who it was, but before he'd had the chance, the voice continued speaking. "It's all right. That's Daisuke. He lives here." 

Whoever was holding him down gave a questioning grunt. "Are you certain, Princess?"  
"Hikari?" Daisuke realized. The person on top of him sharply whacked his head, and he corrected himself. "Ow! - Princess Hikari, what's going on?" he questioned in a slightly more polite voice. 

"Yes, I'm certain," Hikari replied, answering the question. She held the candle close to Daisuke's face. "See? Daisuke Motomiya. Son of the Lord who owns this manor." 

Somewhat reluctantly, the person on top of Daisuke conceded and released his hold on the boy. Daisuke sat up, rubbing his sore head. 

"What's going on?" he repeated, somewhat grumpily. 

"Sorry Daisuke," Hikari apologized. "Miha is a bit overprotective. I didn't intend for such a – violent confrontation."

Daisuke nodded complacently. Then he realized something. "Just what are you doing in my bedroom anyway, Princess?" 

She blushed slightly. "I was looking for you, actually," she explained. "I've a proposal for you." 

"Proposal?" he repeated blankly. 

 "My brother is very busy now preparing for the coronation and recovering from his injuries and all those things. But it seems that a few weeks ago the Dark Bandit told him some – disturbing information that he just can't stop thinking about." 

"Disturbing information?" 

Another nod. "Something about people being wrongly imprisoned and harshly punished. He didn't tell me the whole story, exactly, but he said you would understand."

Daisuke nodded. The Dark Bandit was the alias of one of his closest friends. "So – you want me to show you things?" 

The Princess nodded once more. "Taichi wishes that I see how the people really live and then report back to him on what I have seen. You're to show me these things and protect me while you show me. I'm also supposed to do these things undercover. No one can know who I am." 

Daisuke frowned in the direction of the burly man who had pinned him to the floor. "What about him?" 

"Miha is a good protector," Hikari conceded. "But he's not aware of the land and the people like you are. And he's a bit conspicuous." 

The large man grunted as though he agreed with the Princess' statements, but said nothing. Daisuke looked doubtful. 

"I've seen you fight, Daisuke. Taichi and I agree that you are capable of keeping me safe." 

Daisuke took in her words and thought about what they meant. He was to protect her, lead her into the village, and show her the things he had once seen that had convinced him the former King (Hikari's father) had been doing wrong. He sighed thoughtfully and looked between the Princess and Miha the bodyguard. 

"All right," he agreed, finally. 

***

Early the next morning, with  most of the manor still asleep, Daisuke and the Princess Hikari set out on foot to the village. They were alone. Tailmon and V-mon had been left behind because both were rare types that would be too visible in public. 

Daisuke had dressed in old, half-worn out clothes and a hat that covered most of his  head, including parts of his eyes. The hat was slightly conspicuous, but he had learned several years earlier that he would need to hide who he was if he wished to stay alive, and this was the best way to do it. 

Hikari was dressed in the plainest dress she owned, with a scarf over her head to make her blend in as much as possible. She followed behind Daisuke as they walked, taking in the scenery but trying not to appear too naïve. 

As the sun was  rising higher they entered the main streets of the village. People wandered around, some with digimon beside them, some alone. There were digimon wandering alone, too. The shops had just opened, and Hikari followed her protector through the streets, past a sweets smelling bakery, an inn, and several food shops. 

_'It's not too horrible,' _she thought to herself as they walked. The people looked plain, and their clothes were  worn, but they appeared to be in good physical health despite their shabbiness. Some of the food she saw was old, but not rotten. The villagers bustled about their daily chores, and children ran in the streets, playing games. 

Daisuke turned then, leading her away from the market area, and she saw the small shacks that lined the streets. Most were in dire need of repair, and very small. Children ran between the tightly packed buildings, shouting and playing. Mothers called out the window at their children while they worked inside the huts. 

Hikari  barely concealed her gasp of surprise, and Daisuke noticed it. "Most of these huts house at least two families," he reported. "Would you like to see inside one?" She stared blankly at him, but nodded. 

"We managed to make a few friends here," Daisuke explained as they continued down the street. Hikari didn't ask who he meant by "we." She had learned long ago to let him have his secret. 

At the end of the street was a river, and beside the river, slightly apart from the other shacks, was another small hut. It appeared as though the roof had been repaired recently. As they neared, the door burst open and  four little children rushed out each carrying a small digimon in their arms, cheering and shouting words all at once. Hikari could make out none of the words. 

The children crowded around Daisuke, and he grinned at their acceptance of him. As they shouted, he responded to several of their calls, but Hikari couldn't make out a single word. Blankly, she stared at the scene, until finally, he managed to quiet them down. 

He turned to Hikari with a grin, and introduced them one by one. "These  are friends I made here," he explained. "This is Shijo," he pointed to a small, thin-looking boy that held a Koromon, "this is Kodo," a slightly taller boy with a Pagumon, "this is Maigo," another, thin boy with a Motimon, "and this," pointing towards a small girl with a Pyocomon, the only one in the group, "is Onna." 

Hikari nodded politely to the children, smiling as cheerfully as possible.

"This is my friend," Daisuke told the youngsters, but then paused, uncertain of how to introduce her.

She smiled again, and gave a little wave. "Call me Kari," she  introduced herself. 

"Won't you come in and see Mama?" the one identified as Shijo questioned. "She's been worried about you." 

Daisuke nodded. "Of course."

"Are you visiting?" Onna questioned of Hikari. 

"Yes. Daisuke is showing me around," she explained. 

"Do you come from a long way away?" Kodo asked. 

She nodded. "Very far," she replied. 

"Do you live in a house like ours?" Onna asked. She gripped Hikari's hand and led her towards the small hut. 

"Ours is one of the biggest in the village," Maigo supplied . "And our friends helped Mama to fix the roof after Papa had to go away." 

"Go away?" Hikari repeated blankly. 

The boisterous children were suddenly silent. They had entered the house, slipping through the small doorway, and Hikari caught sight of a middle aged woman just inside the hut. She sat at a chair beside a small table, stitching what Hikari supposed must be clothes for her children. 

"Mama, we have visitors!" Onna announced. The woman stood up. 

"Oh, Daisuke, I was worried," she exclaimed, and a moment later engulfed the boy in a hug. "You haven't been to visit in a while. Oh! What's this? Not your _girlfriend_, is she?" 

Daisuke blushed bright red and shook his head violently. "No, Mama, not girlfriend. Just a friend. This is Kari. She's visiting." 

Hikari smiled as brightly as possible and curtsied lightly. "Hello," she greeted politely. 

The woman frowned slightly. "You look strangely familiar to me. Are you sure you haven't been around here before?" 

"Not since I was very young," Hikari replied, truthfully. She recalled that, when she was about five years of age, her family had gone on a tour of the land. She was fairly certain that was the last time she had been anywhere near the area. There was no way the woman could recognize her from so many years ago.

Mama shrugged slightly. "Well, any friend of Daisuke's is a friend of mine," she stated plainly. "Just call me Mama. Everyone does." 

Hikari smiled. She liked this woman already. Her pleasant demeanor was enough to set aside any worries she might have had. 

"Mama, isn't it time to eat?" Onna questioned, tugging lightly on her mother's skirts. 

"It is," the woman replied. She turned to her guests. "Won't you stay for breakfast?" 

***

Hikari ate the warm breakfast eagerly. Mama had a true talent for making even these meager rations turn into a delightful  meal, and even the breakfast stew was very tasty. 

As soon as they had finished, Onna, Shijo, Maigo, and Kodo ran out of the house again, eager to return to playing and any chores they had to do, leaving Hikari and Daisuke to speak with their mother. 

"Can I ask a question?" Hikari asked politely. When Mama nodded, she asked: "Maigo said that their Papa had to go away?" 

Daisuke looked at his half-empty plate and swirled the meat and vegetables around. 

Mama sighed and stood up, taking her empty dish with her. "Their father was taken off to war just after Onna was born. We never got any sort of remains from the battlefield, so Maigo clings to the hope that he might be alive and return someday." 

"Is there really any such hope?" 

"Probably not. I've told him many times that he really shouldn't say such things. He has to accept that his father isn't coming back." Mama sighed again and then turned to Daisuke. "If you're not going to eat it, boy, let me have the plate."

Daisuke turned bright red for the second time that day and continued eating his food. "Sorry, Mama," he  apologized, his mouth half full. A few seconds later he had devoured the remainder of the stew. 

"Don't your Mama feed you anymore?" she wondered jokingly as she took the empty plate away. "You eat like you haven't had food in days." 

Daisuke nearly choked in the middle of a gulp of his drink. He coughed several times. "What's the matter?" Mama questioned once he had managed to get his breath back.  

Hikari could answer that easily enough. "His mother died a few weeks ago," she explained as politely as possible. 

Mama gasped. "Oh goodness! That must be why you haven't been around! How horrible!" 

Daisuke nodded and took another gulp of the drink, coughing once more. "She was sick for a long time, I think," Hikari supplied. 

"Very long," Daisuke agreed, hoarsely. He cleared his throat. "She kept how sick she was away from my sister and I, though. Didn't want to worry us." 

"You didn't tell me you had a sister," Mama stated reproachfully. "How's she dealing? And your father?" 

Daisuke shrugged. "My sister is still upset, but she's coping. Father? He's all right I suppose. Burying himself in his work." 

Mama shook her head with a sigh. "You come back at the end of the day, Daisuke. I'll give you a cake to take back home." 

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that. I couldn't. You need that cake more than we do." 

"You can't possibly have homemade cakes now that your mama's gone," she stated bluntly. "I'll send you with one to go back home." 

Daisuke shook his head somewhat vehemently. "No, Mama, I couldn't. Trust me. My – um – my sister – she's been taking care of the cooking. We're getting by." 

"You're turning down cake?"

"You need it more than we do. I couldn't possibly." 

Mama looked at him curiously. "If you're sure."

"Positive." 

"I can see there's no way to talk you out of this," the woman decided with a sigh. "But you come back here if you ever need something to eat." 

"I will," he promised cheerfully, pleased he'd managed to appease her. 

"So what are you two going to do now?" she questioned. "Take her around town, show her the sites, maybe even venture for a glimpse of the big old house?" 

"Big house?" Hikari repeated blankly. 

"You haven't seen it yet?" Mama questioned. "Well, then you better make sure to show her, Daisuke. The big house is the huge manor where the Lord lives with his family." 

Daisuke was carefully studying his shoes. 

"Oh, and you can see it from the village?" Hikari asked. 

"You can see it from nearly everywhere, it's so big!" Mama exclaimed. "Would probably fit fifteen of these little huts inside it." 

"More like twenty, I think, Mama," Daisuke interrupted softly, still peering at his shoes. 

"Maybe more!" Mama agreed. "And if you've ever seen that boy that lives there? That's a treat. Comes down to the market all on his own sometimes, with the strangest digimon I've ever seen! What's it called again, Daisuke?" 

Daisuke frowned, appearing to be in thought for a moment. "V-mon?" he questioned, as though he wasn't certain of the name.

"That's it! Haven't either of you got one?" she wondered then, as though it had just occurred to her to ask the question. 

"Of course we do, Mama, but they've got their own work to do," Daisuke explained, smiling slightly. 

"Right," Mama agreed. "I get so much more help with Floramon, she watches the children, goes on errands for me. She should be home any minute, won't you stay?" 

"I'd love to, Mama, but we've really got to get going," Daisuke excused himself, standing up. "It was good to see you again." 

"Right, right," she agreed, smiling broadly. "It was good to see you again, Daisuke." She hugged him strongly. "If you ever need anything, you come and ask Mama, all right?" 

"I will, Mama," he promised. 

"Good. It was good to meet you, too, Kari," she said, and hugged Hikari. "You ever need anything, feel free to ask. And you take good care of this boy, now, all right?" 

"I will," Hikari replied with a smile.

***

I'm very bad at titles. Very bad. If you'd like evidence of this, just look at this one. 

In case you were wondering, the names I give the minor, self-invented characters have meanings! 

Nouka – (Momoe's husband) - farmer. Technically, if the Inoues are fairly well off, Momoe would not have been married to a simple farmer. I imagine her as being as bold and impulsive as Miyako herself and so fell in love with Nouka, a landowner who was slightly less wealthy then herself, at a young age. 

Miha – (Hikari's bodyguard) -  short for Miharu -  which means to guard or protect.

The children – 

            Shijo – child

            Kodo – (short for kodoma) also means child

            Maigo – lost or stray child (yes this is the actual definition)

            Onna – (short for onnanoko) – girl 

I couldn't think of a good name for their mother, so she's simply called Mama. ^_^


	2. Part Two: Danger for Daisuke!

The Reign of Courage

Chapter Two: Danger for Daisuke 

***

Note: The plot is mine, the characters aren't. Don't sue, don't steal. Thanks!

*** 

"She's very nice," Hikari stated, regarding Mama, one they were on the road again, and walking along the river. "Doesn't she have any clue who you are?" 

Daisuke chuckled. "She does, I'm sure," he stated. "But she's never said anything, and I'm not about to give myself away." He adjusted his hat again, making sure it fit securely over his head. 

"It must be very hard for her," Hikari noted, sympathetically. "But she's a great cook, and a great person, and she doesn't seem to be brought down by it."  
He agreed, sobering slightly. "She's got helpful children, too," he reminded her. 

"How old are those children?" she wondered. 

He frowned for a moment, thinking as they walked. "Shijo is the oldest. I think he's eleven or so. His Koromon will probably evolve any day now. He can't wait. He's the most responsible, being the oldest. Reminds me a bit of your brother, actually." 

Hikari chuckled now, agreeing. "A bit calmer, I think," she noted. "Taichi had a Koromon when he was younger," she recalled. 

Daisuke nodded. "Maybe Shijo's Koromon will be an Agumon, too," he  stated. "After Shijo is Maigo. He's nine, I think. Kodo is eight, and Onna is five." 

There was silence for a few moments as they walked along the river. A few of the village boys were fishing along the river, including some older children and a few men. "There's a lot of fish here," Daisuke explained. "It's one of the staples of the villagers' diet."

As they walked, they spotted Shijo and Maigo across the river, pulling at their lines. "Looks like they caught something," Hikari noted. They paused a few moments and watched the boys pull in a fairly large fish.

"Not bad," Daisuke noted. "That'll serve them for dinner tonight." 

"So where are we going now?" 

He pointed to a tall, bleak looking building on the opposite side of the river. "The prison," he replied. "You wanted to see it, right?" 

Hikari looked at the building with some trepidation. "Yes," she agreed. "I did." 

"Don't worry," he assured her. "There's nothing in there that can hurt you. You'll be perfectly safe." 

They continued along the river for a few moments until they came to a small bridge. They crossed over the river and continued to the prison. 

The building rose high over their heads. Hikari peered at the dirty, old, stone walls, and beaten, dead grass around the prison as she followed Daisuke. 

The  entranceway was a large, metal grate. A guard nearby noted the visitors as they approached and shouted down. "Coming in?" 

"For a visit!" Daisuke shouted back. 

"Just a visit?" 

"That's it!"  
"Come on in then!" The grate began to creak noisily, and a few minutes later rose above them. Daisuke took Hikari's hand and pulled her quickly under before it closed again with a bang, startling her. 

The prison, it appeared from the inside, was built quite a bit like a castle. Four thick, stone walls surrounded an inner courtyard. Cells, filled with dirty, lifeless, weak prisoners, lined the four walls. Nasty and angry looking guards patrolled the inner courtyard, preventing the option of escape. 

Hikari suppressed a shudder and followed Daisuke through the courtyard to the opposite side of the prison. She peered through the bars to see that, in one of the cells, a fight was going on between two or three prisoners. One angry old man punched a younger inmate in the face. Blood flew from his mouth, and he leapt on the old man that had punched him. 

A third man leapt on the younger man, attempting to pull them apart, but neither took any notice. A moment later, he was flung to the ground again, where he fell, heaving a sigh and deciding to leave them to their fighting. 

"'Kari, come on," Daisuke whispered then in her ear, pulling her away. She managed to tear her eyes from the fight and followed him again. "Those happen all the time, it's nothing to worry about." A shout came from the cell with the fight then, and she glanced back. "Trust me. It's fine," he assured her. 

Hikari turned from the cell reluctantly. "But – they'll hurt each other," she protested. 

He sighed. "That's what they're out to do," he told her. "It relieves the boredom, I suppose. If they're not careful, they could end up in solitary for a week." 

Her blank look told him she had no idea what he was talking about. "If there are too many fights, or if you can't seem to get along with anyone, the guards will pull you away from the group and stick you in a private cell. It's dark, there's hardly any air, and there's no one to talk to. The idea is if you cannot get along, you should be separated. Each time you're put in solitary, the time increases." 

"That's horrible!" 

"Fights happen when you crowd ten or fifteen people into a cell designed to hold only about five," Daisuke stated matter-of-factly. "This is just a way to try to prevent it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

The fight continued violently in the cell, and four of the guards opened the door, breaking it apart. A scuffle continued for a moment and then, two of the prisoners were taken out. The guards snapped iron shackles to their wrists and led them to a heavy metal door at the end of the courtyard. The cell was shut again, and the remaining prisoners went back to their perpetual boredom.

Daisuke sighed slightly. "Those two are probably being taken to solitary," he explained. "It's in the basement, through  that door, down the stairs, under where we stand now. I've seen it, but I don't want to again. And I _never_ want to be there." He shuddered at the memory. 

"Can I see?" Hikari whispered softly, s till staring at the door that had shut behind the prisoners. She turned to Daisuke when he didn't answer, and was somewhat surprised to see the look of shock on his face. 

"You don't want to!" he protested. "Hikari, this _couldn't_ be what Taichi wanted you to see."

"He wanted me to see the horrors of the land," she replied, more determined now. "Please, Daisuke. I want to see." 

***

The hallway was narrow and damp. Thick metal doors lined both sides. Hikari followed Daisuke down the hallway, as it was so thin they were forced to walk single-file. From within some of the cells, they could hear shouting and yelling, but it sounded very far off through the doors, and it was mostly eerily silent in this corridor. 

At the end of the hall was a door that was swung partly open, and Daisuke pushed it open the rest of the way and stepped into the cell. Hikari followed. 

It was no larger than the size of a closet, and it was damp and cold. There were no windows, and no source of light. There was no furniture, only a tattered looking blanket that had been thrown in the corner. 

"The only light you'd receive is through the door," Daisuke explained in a soft, pained-sounding voice. He gestured towards the heavy metal door, and Hikari saw that it had a very small slit in it, only enough to let in a small sliver of light. 

She shuddered and shook her head. 

***

It was nearly dark when they finally left the prison and began walking back through the village. Daisuke wondered if it wouldn't be better to find an inn and stay for the night, as it was quite late. He didn't relish the thought of walking back to the manor in the dead of night. 

He ventured a glance towards Hikari. Neither of them had spoken since they'd left the hall of solitary confinement. He wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. He was about to mention his thoughts about the inn, when he was interrupted by a shout. 

"Look out! Out of the road, please!" 

A small cart filled with hay, pulled by a large gray Monochromon, was barreling down the street. The driver, a funny looking creature with a pointed hat, was obviously having difficulty driving, as the cart nearly flattened a few pedestrians. "Look out!" he shouted again. "Watch out! I can't control him! Get out of the way!"

Hikari quickly jumped to the side of the road, not wishing to be run over by a slightly wild Monochromon. "Daisuke! What are you doing?" she shouted. 

Daisuke had done exactly the opposite of what logic dictated – he had jumped in the middle of the road. "Stop!" he shouted.

The Monochromon paid no attention, and continued to barrel towards him at full speed. 

"Are you crazy?" the driver shouted. "Get out of the way!" 

"Jump off!" Daisuke shouted to the driver. "Jump off the cart!" 

The driver obeyed, jumping to the ground and rolling slightly to avoid a sharp collision. Hikari hurried to see if he was all right, then turned back to see if Daisuke had been flattened.  

Daisuke jumped to the side of the road at the last minute before the Monochromon ran him over. He jumped on to the cart as it sped by, leaving Hikari and the disposed driver in the dust. 

As the cart sped along, he climbed through the hay-filled cart, making his way to the driver's seat. "Hey!" he called to the Monochromon. "What ever your problem is, I can help. But you've got to stop!" 

Naturally, the crazed digimon paid no attention to him. Daisuke climbed through the cart and finally managed reach the reins. Suddenly, he noticed they were heading in the direction of a small hut, and the Monochromon showed no intention of slowing down. 

"You've – got – to – stop!" he gasped, grabbing the reins and managing to steer them away from the hut. They barreled along the open road for a few moments. Daisuke pulled at the reins with all his might. "Please!" he half-begged the Monochromon. "Stop!" 

Finally, he managed to halt the digimon's rampage. It stopped near the edge of the river and promptly began to drink the cool, clear liquid. Daisuke sighed and fell back into the cart, exhausted. He quickly made sure his hat had not become dislodged in the ride, and then climbed out to see that Hikari and the driver of the cart were running towards him. 

"Oh thank goodness," the driver stated, relieved. He went immediately to the Monochromon. "Don't do that again," he scolded the Monochromon. 

"What happened?" Daisuke gasped, still exhausted from the chase. Hikari was hugging him tightly, relieved to find him all right. 

"Let me thank you for your assistance," the driver stated then, turning away from the Monochromon. "I am Wizarmon. Monochromon and I were coming back from delivering some food to the villagers and were resting further up the road. I went to get my bag from the back of the cart," he held up a small leather bag, "and these nasty looking  boys approached my cart. Apparently they fed Monochromon something spicy, because took off at high speed for the river. It's very lucky no one was hurt." 

Laughter came from somewhere nearby, and three boys emerged from behind a dark hut, each flanked by their own digimon. The tallest boy had a Gazimon, the second boy, standing to his left, had a Lopmon, and the third, a bit smaller than the others, had a Dokunemon hovering near his head. 

"And they say Monochromon can't run fast," the tallest boy noted jokingly. He laughed again, and the others joined him.

"That one sure ran fast," his Gazimon agreed. 

The other two boys laughed as well. "Maybe you should enter him in a race," the one with the Lopmon noted. 

"Yeah," Lopmon added. "All you'd have to do is feed him some peppers." The three boys laughed again, and the third boy held out his hand, revealing some spicy bright red peppers. 

Daisuke felt his anger boiling. "Is that your idea of fun?" he asked. "People could have been hurt!" 

"There's a reason Monochromon don't run fast," Hikari agreed sensibly. "They're too big. They could flatten whole buildings." 

The tallest boy laughed and sauntered forward, the other two following him. He positioned himself in front of Hikari and said, "That's right, girl. You're pretty smart." 

"Leave her alone," Daisuke  warned. The other two boys stepped near him and grabbed his arms, preventing him from doing anything. "What do you want, anyway?" 

"I haven't seen you around here before," the tallest continued, paying no attention to Daisuke. "New in the area? I could show you around." 

"Thanks, but I've already _got _a tour guide," she replied, stepping away. 

"I _said_, leave her alone," Daisuke stated again with more determination. 

"Hey, Tori," the boy with the Lopmon partner called. "I think the boy with the funny hat has a problem with you." 

"Is that so?" he questioned, turning to Daisuke. "You have a problem with me?"

"Yeah," Daisuke agreed. "I do. How about calling off these guys and fighting me one-on-one. If you can, that is." 

"Daisuke!" Hikari protested. He just smiled and didn't answer her. 

"I can take you with one hand tied behind my back," the one identified as Tori stated boldly. Immediately, the other two boys released Daisuke, who only grinned confidently, and stepped back. 

"What are you going to fight for?" Hikari shouted. "This is stupid!"

Wizarmon stepped forward. "Let him fight," he advised. "You probably won't be able to stop him." Hikari sighed, frowning. 

Before Daisuke could make a move, Tori leapt forward, throwing both of them to the ground. A scuffle continued for the next few moments, with both boys trying their hardest to hit the other, but neither succeeding. 

"Daisuke!" Hikari shouted again as the two fighters managed to kick up enough dust to obscure the scene. "This is ridiculous," she commented to Wizarmon, who only shrugged in reply. 

Suddenly, a tall man came running. He was dressed in dark clothes, and Hikari could barely see him through the night. "All right, break it up. Tori!" 

Almost immediately, the boys stopped fighting. The man (Hikari assumed he was Tori's father) reached out and grabbed both Tori and Daisuke by the collar. "Both of you, break it up," he ordered firmly. "Tori, your mother wants you. You," he looked over Daisuke with his eyes, "should probably be somewhere else, too. Go." With that, he turned and left, Tori and the other two boys following behind him. 

Daisuke dusted himself off and wiped the blood from his nose. "Not much of a fighter," he commented. 

"You shouldn't be fighting," Hikari scolded. 

He shrugged again. "Nothing came of it," he replied. "I knew it wouldn't last long. Besides, I would have looked like a fool if I'd walked away from it."   
"He didn't have much of a choice," Wizarmon agreed. Hikari sighed in reluctant agreement. 

Daisuke straightened his hat. "Well, glad I could help out," he stated to Wizarmon. 

"So am I," the other stated. "Can I give you a ride back home? It's late." 

"Actually, I was thinking about getting a room in an inn," Daisuke stated, more to Hikari than to Wizarmon. "It is late. Would you mind?" 

She shook her head. "I'm not looking forward to walking at night, either," she agreed. It was now quite dark. 

Wizarmon nodded. "There's a nice inn not far from here. I'll take you there." 

Daisuke agreed. "As long as the Monochromon behaves himself," he joked. 

***

The inn turned out to be a fairly far distance away, and it took them nearly fifteen minutes to get to the inn. Once they had arrived, Daisuke and Hikari hopped down from the hay filled cart and turned to enter the building. 

Before Daisuke could move an inch in the direction of the door, however, they found themselves surrounded by four tall, broad-shouldered men. They were each dressed in black, and they appeared quite angry. 

"Now what?" Daisuke grumbled slightly, sighing in exasperation. 

"What's this about?" Hikari questioned. 

"Step aside, girl. This one's trouble," one of the men stated. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Just move aside, girl. This doesn't concern you," another snapped, slightly angrily. 

"All right, then who does it concern?" Wizarmon questioned. 

"It concerns us and the imposter," the third man in the circle declared. 

"Imposter? What imposter?" Hikari repeated blankly. 

"This one," the final man stated. He stepped forward. Before Daisuke could move an inch, he had ripped the shabby looking hat from his head, revealing the young boy for who he really was. His spiky red hair, inherited from his parents, was the sure sign of anyone born into the Motomiya family.

Wizarmon's eyes grew wide. Hikari gasped aloud. "No! You leave him alone!" she shouted. 

"Now would be a good time to get out of here, 'Kari," Daisuke stated, meeting her eyes. 

"He has a point. Come on," Wizarmon gripped her hand and began to pull her aside. 

"We can't just leave him," she protested. 

"I'll be fine, Kari, just go," Daisuke insisted. "You don't need to get caught up in this." 

"We'll be back for him, don't worry," Wizarmon assured her. 

As Hikari and Wizarmon watched, the four men led Daisuke away. Outnumbered, he had no choice but to follow them into a cart pulled by a dozen fast-moving Kiwimon. They were gone before Hikari could move. 

"Daisuke!" Hikari shouted at the empty road. She turned to Wizarmon. "What are they going to do to him? Where will they take him?"

"I think I know where," Wizarmon replied. "There's an old abandoned building up the river, past the prison. I'll bet they took him there. It's been a thieves' hideout for a long time." He climbed into the cart behind Monochromon and they started up the road, Monochromon moving slightly quicker than usual. 

Unbeknownst to Hikari, Wizarmon, or the Monochromon that pulled the cart, they were being watched by a figure in hiding. As soon as they had departed in the slow moving cart, he was gone, speeding ahead of them to the abandoned building.

***

Daisuke struggled faintly against the tight ropes that bound his hands behind his back. "Just what to do you plan to do with me?" he questioned, the slightest bit of fear running through his veins. 

"Shut up!" one of the men snapped. 

"He has a point. What _are _we going to do with him?" one of the other men asked. 

"We're going to hold him for ransom," the other man replied. 

"Ransom?!" Daisuke half shouted. He was rewarded for this outburst by having a dusty old rag shoved in his mouth. 

"You keep quiet, I said!" the man who had snapped at him before shouted. The cart jolted sharply to a stop, and Daisuke found himself face down on the hard wooden floor. 

"Grab him," one of the  men shouted, and climbed out of the cart. Two other men took Daisuke by the arms and hauled him upright. Then they half led, half dragged him into an old, run-down looking building. Daisuke didn't recognize where he was at all. 

The inside of the building was dark, and two of the men lit candles. The other two placed their prisoner roughly in a chair and bound him to it. Daisuke didn't even bother struggling. Against four men, he would be quickly beaten. Especially since each and every one of them was bigger and most likely stronger than he was. 

"So how long you guys think we should leave him here before we write that letter?" one of the men asked as soon as he was secured. 

"I say a couple of days," another replied. 

"Only a few days?" the first questioned. "I think we should keep him a week." 

"I don't know. He probably won't last that long," another man spoke up. He shot Daisuke a rather angry glare. "You know, too much of that rich food. Not that _we'd _know what that's like." 

Daisuke made a face at the man, but he only laughed. 

"Let's settle on three days, then?" the man who was obviously the leader stated. "Three days, we'll keep him here, watch him, and then we'll send the letter to his 'Papa' and get our money." 

"How much you reckon we should ask for?" one of the other men questioned. Daisuke let his mind wander, and tried to focus on something else. He didn't want to know how much he would be bargained for. He tried to think of some way to escape. He tugged fruitlessly at the ropes and wished he could loosen them. 

_'Some bodyguard I turned out to be,'_ he sighed. _'Hikari didn't get hurt, but I got myself kidnapped. I wonder how they knew who I was?' _

He had no way of knowing the answer to that question, and so decided to abandon that train of thought. He observed the building he was in. Despite the candles his kidnappers had set out, the old abandoned shack was quite dim and dark. It was only slightly larger than the residential huts, and he assumed it must have been used as a hiding place for some time.

There was a crashing sound from somewhere overhead, and Daisuke startled. The men stood up. 

"What was that?" one of them shouted, fear in his voice. 

The leader of the group turned to Daisuke with anger again. "Somebody trying to rescue him already?" 

"Not a chance," one of the others insisted. 

"You think that little girl was going to come after him? She don't stand a chance!" one of the others shouted. Another bang sounded. 

"I think it might be a good idea to get out of here," another man decided. 

"Good plan," the leader agreed, looking somewhat shaky himself. "Let's get going." 

Before he could say or do anything more, however, an even louder sound crashed. A hole appeared in the wall next to the door, and Wizarmon and Hikari stood there, Wizarmon holding his glowing staff, ready to fire another attack at a moment's notice. 

"What the?" the leader wondered, but before he could continue a large black shape flew from the ceiling and crashed into him. 

A second later, all hell broke loose. Hikari swung a large staff of her own, dispelling the notion that she was only a helpless girl. Wizarmon lobbed his attacks, succeeding in hitting one of the kidnappers and scaring off the other two. Hikari followed him out the door as they chased after the escapees. 

Daisuke noticed none of this, however, as his eyes were currently on the dark figure now involved in a vicious, fists-flying battle with the leader of the kidnappers. 

Unfortunately, due to Wizarmon's devastating attack, the structure of the building was rather unstable. A few of the rafters were loosened, and small splintered pieces of wood came down from the roof. Daisuke tried to make note of this, but was still unable to speak. As a result, neither of the combatants noticed his warnings. 

The leader of the kidnappers was becoming quite frustrated by the interlopers who had ruined his plan. He couldn't hit the intruder – who was dressed all in black – even with a black hat – except for a ludicrous purple scarf around that hat. He despised those who hid, and as this person wore a mask, he obviously had something to hide. 

Daisuke's muffled cries grew louder, but still, neither the kidnapper nor the intruder noticed him. He struggled against the ropes, but, despite his panic, he was still unable to loosen them. 

Outside, Hikari and Wizarmon had lost sight of the other two men, who had disappeared into the forest. "We tried our best," Wizarmon noted with a voice of consigned defeat, and they turned back to the building just in time to see it crumble to the ground. 

"Daisuke! Oh my gosh!" Hikari shouted for about the third time that day. 

***

Daisuke slowly managed to open his eyes to discover a pounding headache assaulting his brain. Relieved at his survival, he noted that he was no longer tied, no longer sitting up, and no longer gagged. He tried to sit up and found he was lying in a bed of hay. Then he noticed he was lying in a bed of hay in the back of a cart. 

He sat up sharply, and then quickly regretted it. "'Kari?" he questioned tentatively. 

"Daisuke!" she was there a second later, squeezing the very life out of him in relief. Behind her he could see that the leader of the men who had kidnapped him was lying unconscious on the ground, closely guarded by the large Monochromon. Wizarmon was talking animatedly to his rescuer, a young man he was able to identify quite easily. When he noticed Daisuke was awake, the Dark Bandit tossed a barely concealed wink in his direction. Puzzled and still dazed, Daisuke said nothing.

"What happened?" he questioned of Hikari once she had released him. She was eager to tell the tale. 

"Wizarmon and I came, intending to save you, but right after we broke in, _he_ showed up." She gestured over her shoulder, and Daisuke didn't need to ask who. "Unfortunately, the stupid old shack fell right down after a couple of weak attacks from Wizarmon, and you, the Dark Bandit, and that guy were buried underneath." 

Daisuke nodded. "That explains the headache," he realized, rubbing the back of his head.  "Let me guess who saved me." 

Hikari only smiled in response. 

***

Mimi strolled pleasantly through the woods, pausing now and then to examine a pretty flower or a strange digimon that caught her eye. Palmon followed behind her, humming pleasantly. 

Koushiro sighed. He had given up on trying to persuade Mimi to walk faster, so he had decided to amuse himself with a book he had brought along. He peered up from it now, watching as Mimi and Palmon examined a flower, and paused in his walking to read. 

Tentomon flew overhead, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine for once. Normally, because his partner liked to be inside – in his underground laboratory even – he got little in  the way of outside entertainment, although he did separate from him for a bit at least once a week. 

From his vantage point in the sky, Tentomon watched as Koushiro tried, for the umpteenth time, to politely request that they get their journey over with _before_ the sun went down. Mimi protested, saying that she didn't think it was that much farther to the strange little man's house, and that she wanted to enjoy the outside air, was that a crime? The wizard merely sighed in response and returned to his book. 

"Don't you _ever_ pull yourself away from books?" Mimi demanded, ripping the book from his hands. 

"That book, Lady Tachikawa, is over one hundred years old. If it were to be destroyed, it would not be replaceable," Koushiro reminded her as politely as possible. 

"For the nine millionth time, _Mister Izumi_, call me Mimi," she insisted. "I'm not a Lady, really. It's just a title. Besides, it's easier to pronounce." 

"Fine. _Mimi_, could you give me back my book, please?" 

"As long as you promise to put it away and keep your nose out of it as long as we're out here," Mimi insisted. 

Koushiro sighed. "Fine. I shall cease reading if you can speed up our trip," he declared diplomatically. 

Somewhat reluctantly, Mimi returned the century-old book, and Koushiro placed it in the sack he was carrying. They resumed walking, with a little more direction this time. About ten minutes later, they were in front of a small cottage. 

"This is it," Mimi declared. She stepped forward and knocked on the door. "Oh, Gennai!" 

"So this is the area in which you found the digivices," Koushiro noted. "Fascinating. It doesn't appear to be any different than the rest of the forest." 

"Actually, we found them over there," Palmon pointed off to the east. "They were in a box on a tree stump." 

Mimi peered through the windows of the house. "It doesn't look like he's home," she reported cheerfully. 

"We came all this way for nothing?" Tentomon half-complained. 

"No, there's still something useful to get out of it," Koushiro decided. He turned to Mimi. "Show me where you found the digivices." 

"Sure," Mimi replied. She turned and marched through the woods. "Let's see, we turned and headed west when we left the road. I don't think we moved north or south at all, did we, Palmon?" 

"I don't think so," Palmon replied. "No, just straight west when we saw that Monzaemon." 

"Monzaemon?" Koushiro repeated blankly. 

"He was a big guy," Mimi replied. "Very bad-tempered. Gennai said that the King had put Monzaemon there to guard him."

"I wonder why he would do that," Koushiro wondered. 

"I don't know ," Mimi confessed. She shrugged, and they continued walking. 

After a short period of time, they came upon a little old man who was sitting on a stump. "Gennai!" Palmon greeted. 

"Oh, greetings!" the old man replied, waving cheerfully. "I was hoping for some visitors. Rather lonely out here in the woods." 

"Gennai, this is Koushiro," Mimi introduced. 

"He's a wizard," Palmon added as though that explained everything about him. 

"Rather young for a wizard, aren't you?" Gennai wondered, peering through squinted eyes at the young man. 

"Yes, well, I'm talented," Koushiro replied, blushing slightly. 

"Gennai, what are you doing all the way out here?" Palmon wondered. 

"Actually, I was looking through some old books and things," Koushiro's ears perked up at the mention of books, "and I recalled mention of something else that's supposed to be hidden around here." 

"What's that?" Tentomon buzzed, flying in for a closer look at the area. 

"Well, the book was so old that exactly what was supposed to be here I couldn't make out," Gennai replied. "But I know it was supposed to be near where the digivices were located." 

"So it's important, whatever it is?" Palmon questioned. 

"I think so," the old man answered. "Of course, I could be wrong. It could just be an old list of things I'd lost out in the woods. Come to think of it, I was on a picnic recently and lost a ham sandwich." 

Koushiro sighed. "Well, how are we supposed to find it if we don't know what it is?" 

Gennai shrugged. Mimi kicked aside some leaves, Palmon peered at the base of a tree. Tentomon soared a bit higher in the air to see if he couldn't see something from above. 

Koushiro sighed again, wandering off into another section of the woods, ostensibly to search for the unknown object. In truth, he couldn't see the point of looking for something and not knowing the point of their search. Even if they were to find this – whatever it was – they'd have no way of knowing they had completed the search simply because they wouldn't know if it was what they wanted. The very thought made the young wizard's head hurt. 

He trudged along, feeling slightly depressed about having had Mimi lead him out to the woods only to meet a senile old man. Suddenly, his left foot connected with something hard. He shouted aloud and sat on the ground, clutching his injured foot. 

"What did I walk into?" he wondered. He expected to see a rock obstructing his path, or a tree root, but saw nothing. Curious, he moved his hands through the leaves that covered the forest ground, until they, too, hit something hard. 

It was square, and apparently had been buried under the leaves for quite some time – perhaps years. Koushiro lifted whatever it was from the ground and saw that it was a metal box. Suddenly, he felt that they might have found what they were looking for after all. 

***

I think the only character named in here is Tori, which means leader. Since he's the leader of the boys, his name fit. Wizarmon's appeared now, and he'll be back later. But, what has Koushiro found in the woods? I'm sure you have some idea. And what about those Airdramon? Stay tuned to find out. 

I had great fun writing this part – I love Koushiro. ^_^ For anyone who's wondering *looks pointedly at Kaeera*, Demon will be back. I'm not sure yet how _this_ story will end, so I can't say what he'll do, but he'll be back. Ken's not going to be evil…_yet_. ::grins secretively:: He does appear, eventually, I promise!

Sorry for the slow update process on this – entering exam time. To quote Takato (approximately): Too bad there aren't any classes on Digimon, I'd probably ace. Thanks for reading the story, and for all the great feedback, I really appreciate it!


	3. Part Three: The Search for Courage Begin...

The Reign of Courage

Chapter Three: The Search for Courage Begins

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon and all the characters are NOT mine. The plot is.

***

Taichi  stared at the strange necklace that he now held in his hand. "What is it?" 

"According to Gennai, it's a tag," Koushiro explained. "He said that each of us six who had managed to evolve our partners were to get one." 

"He didn't say who the other two were for," Mimi added. 

"So that means us three, Jyou, Sora, and Yamato," Koushiro clarified. "We though t we'd give you yours first." 

The not-yet-king nodded. "Thanks," he stated appreciatively. "But – what do they do?"

"Gennai says they hold something called a crest," Tentomon buzzed from his hovering spot behind his partner. 

"A – crest?" 

"Apparently, they help in the evolution process," Koushiro explained. 

"So the old man thinks we'll need to evolve again?" Agumon asked. 

Mimi answered this question. "He thinks you'll have to evolve _higher_," she clarified. 

"Higher?" Taichi repeated. "Using the –crests?" Koushiro nodded. "Did he say how we're supposed to find these  crests?" 

"The tags are supposed to be magically linked to the crests in some way," Koushiro clarified. "And to whoever wears them. The crests apparently accentuate a strength within the human partner which helps the digimon to evolve."

"What sort of strengths?" Taichi was slightly intrigued now. He pulled the strange necklace over his head. 

The young wizard could only shrug, however. "Gennai didn't say." 

***

When  Miyako finally arrived at the palace for the second time in her sixteen years (and the second time in two months), she, Sora, and the rest of their party found a rather hysterical-looking Mimi Tachikawa waiting for them at the gates. 

"I thought you said you would be in last night! Now we're going to be behind because I was counting on you to help me finish with the decorations!" 

"Sorry Mimi, we got a bit delayed," Sora apologized. 

"By what?" Mimi asked, but was cut off by the sound of the royal guards dragging a man, bound entirely in what appeared to be an insect's webbing, away from the carriages. "What the -?" 

"We'll explain later, Mimi," Lady Takenouchi assured the girl. "Right now I think we need to speak to Prince Taichi. He'll want to know of this, I should think." 

"Of course," the girl agreed. "Wait here, I'll see if I can't get Iori to announce you." 

A few moments later, the young man arrived. He looked relieved to get away from Mimi for a moment. "The Prince is very busy," he stated bluntly but kindly. "But he'll make room to receive you, I'm sure. Do you mind waiting a few minutes?" 

"Not at all," Lord Inoue replied. "Tell him we are in no rush." 

Iori bowed politely and rushed off into the castle, returning to his duties. In the meantime, Mimi showed them to where they would be staying, filling them in on the preparations for the party as they walked. Miyako and Sora were pleased to see that they would be sharing the suite they had shared the last time they were there. This time, the third room was not yet occupied. 

"We're not sure yet if Jun, Daisuke, or Lord Motomiya will come," Mimi explained. "We're leaving the room open just in case. My room is just down the hall. Momoe, you can suite with me if it's not a problem. Across the hall, Yamato and Takeru share that suite, and the other one is empty for now." 

Miyako tried not to sound too worried when she spoke next. "What about Ken?" 

Mimi shrugged slightly. "I've not heard anything yet. Would you like to get settled for a bit? I'm sure Iori will call us when Taichi's ready for us." 

"That'll be great, Mimi, thanks," Sora nodded. 

"Mimi, what about Princess Hikari?" Miyako wondered just as she was about to step in to her room. She'd not heard the young princess mentioned yet, and was wondering if she might spend some time with her newest friend. 

"She's not in the palace!" Mimi exclaimed, exasperated. "I wanted to get her opinion on some of the flowers, but I couldn't find her. Taichi absolutely refuses to tell me where she is, and Takeru and Yamato haven't a clue either." She sighed, obviously frustrated.

"I'm sure she'll turn up before the party," Sora assured the slightly frantic young woman. 

"She'd better!" Mimi huffed, turning away to get back to her preparations. Miyako couldn't resist a slight chuckle. 

***

The first time Miyako had been to the castle, only last month, she had been ushered ceremoniously by the young court advisor into a large throne room. The King, Queen, and both children were seated ceremoniously in thrones atop a slightly raised platform that overlooked the room. 

This time, the small group was lead down a corridor to the Prince's personal chambers. Inside, they could hear a heated discussion taking place. 

"I told you – I'm not wearing any flowers! That's just that!" 

"But Taichi – it'll go with the color scheme!" Mimi was half-pleading, and Miyako stifled a chuckle. 

"I don't care. Have Hikari wear flowers. Have the guests wear flowers. Have everyone else wear flowers. But _I am not wearing flowers!_"

Iori coughed and tapped on the door. "Come in!" Taichi's voice rang out, and he opened the door.

"Uh, your majesty, the party that just arrived – they wished to speak with you – remember?" Iori coaxed the older boy into remembrance. 

"Oh! Yes, yes, come in." 

With some amount of confusion, Miyako followed Sora and her parents as they entered the chamber. 

Miyako had been inside Hikari's chambers several times when she and the princess were becoming friends. She was not surprised to see that the young soon-to-be-King's chambers were much the same – large, spacious, and connecting to a balcony. Like most of the rooms in the palace, his bedroom had a separate sitting room for just such an occasion as this. 

Iori proceeded with the introductions quickly and with much less ceremony than would previously have been required. Instead, he simply ran through the names of the visitors before carefully stepping out of the way of Mimi's flower baskets. 

Taichi was currently dressed in an outfit that would most likely have not suited Mimi's preferences for the occasion. Gray pants, casual-style leather boots, and a green tunic were all the young Prince wore. His hair, as usual, was a mop of unruliness, echoing, Miyako thought, his somewhat unruly and casual style, as well as his state of mind. 

He nodded at the sight of Miyako's parents, a large, confident smile appearing on his features. "Glad to see you," he greeted, shaking hands with Lord Inoue. "I hope that whatever differences arose between my father and you are behind us now." 

"I assure you, they are," Miyako's father replied with some determination. 

"Iori said there was something important you wanted to talk about?" 

"Yes," Lady Takenouchi spoke up. "I think Sora would tell it best." 

All eyes in the room immediately turned to the girl. Miyako noted a slight blush creep into her friend's face at the sudden attention, but she nodded and began to speak, hiding her nervousness as best she could. 

"On the way here, we were attacked by a group of Airdramon," she began, and immediately an audible gasp was heard from the three spectators who had not yet heard the story. 

"Tamed Airdramon?" Taichi repeated thoughtfully upon the revelation. "They must be some very powerful tamers, then." 

"They weren't just there to show off, though," Sora continued. "They started attacking us." 

The Prince frowned. "Did they know who you were?" 

"When we saw them, most of us stepped out of the carriages to watch," she replied. "They would surely have seen us, even from that height. They swooped down close to the carriages and fired on us." 

"What reason would Airdramon tamers have to fire upon carriages headed to the palace?" Taichi wondered aloud. 

"What reason would anyone have to tame an Airdramon?" Mimi asked. "Too much trouble! Especially if you have a partner of your own." 

"There are advantages," Iori stated, speaking his opinion. "Flight, speed, strength. Airdramon, I believe, classify into the adult level. A stage above most partner digimon." 

"Most," Sora agreed, and continued with the story, concluding with Piyomon's evolution to Birdramon and the capture of one of the riders. 

"So that _wasn't_ a one time evolution then," Taichi concluded. "If your digimon was able to evolve again, then there's no reason why one of ours wouldn't." He frowned for a moment as though he wanted to say something more, but didn't. "Where's the prisoner now?" 

"He was taken to the dungeon," Lord Inoue replied. 

Taichi nodded. He'll have to be questioned later. Has he given any information voluntarily?" 

"Not a word of it." 

"I suspected not. Thank you, Lord, Ladies," he stated politely. "For the information and your presence at the celebration." 

The group turned to leave. "Sora, Miyako, stay here. I need a word with you. Iori, go fetch Yamato and Takeru. Mimi, see if you can't coax Koushiro up here. Miyako, if you could drag the good doctor Jyou from his work, it would be appreciated. Tell all of them to bring their partners. I would have hoped everyone would be present for this meeting, but this is as close as I can hope for now." 

A moment later, the messengers and the older guests had left. "You're calling the Chosen together?" Sora asked. "Why?" 

"This information is important," Taichi stated. "If you can evolve again, it means something. And Koushiro has new information for us all as well." 

"You think there's a new threat." It was a statement and not a question. 

"I'm positive there is." He stepped from the room to retrieve Agumon, leaving Sora alone with her thoughts. A moment later, the young Prince poked his head in the room. "Ah – Sora?" 

"Yes?" 

"You might want to get Piyomon for this." 

***

Fifteen minutes later, the group assembled in the same chamber. Taichi sat on the window seat, looking suitably distressed and serious. Agumon sat on the floor beside him, watching the others as they entered, but looking a bit more carefree. 

"What's this about?" Yamato questioned as he entered, followed by his partner Gabumon, brother Takeru, and Takeru's partner Patamon. He seated himself on the floor near the door. He had known Taichi since they were young boys, and he could tell when he was serious about something. This latest issue threatened to be a long meeting, so he made himself comfortable. 

"That will be clear when everyone arrives," Iori stated as he entered, standing near the door in case he was needed on an errand. 

Takeru said nothing, but stood between his brother and Iori, frowning slightly. Patamon rested on his head, observing the situation as well. 

"Come on! I _said_ there would be no flowers discussed. Taichi wants to see you, and that's that!" The door opened, and Mimi entered, half-dragging a reluctant Koushiro behind her. 

"If you go back on your word," the young wizard warned. "I'll see you're a Numemon for a week." 

Mimi shuddered, and promised again. "A Numemon? Ech," Palmon commented, making a face. 

Tentomon couldn't help but chuckle. "It would be funny. The first coronation decorated by a Numemon." Mimi glared at him, and he wisely stopped his laughing. 

While they were conversing (or arguing, whichever you prefer), Sora slipped in with Piyomon, and Miyako, Hawkmon, the royal physician Dr. Jyou, and his partner Gomamon entered. 

"Everyone here?" Taichi asked. 

"All present and accounted for," Yamato replied mock-seriously. "Mind telling us why we're here?" 

"Two reasons," their leader replied. "Sora, if you don't mind retelling the story?" 

Sora quickly retold the story of the attacks from the Airdramon and how Piyomon had been able to evolve to prevent injury. 

"They took off after only one of them had been felled?" Yamato questioned. "Looks like they weren't in for a serious battle. Just troublemaking." 

"Most likely," Sora agreed. "But why would anyone go through the trouble of taming an Airdramon just to cause problems with some passers-by?" 

"Maybe they're planning for something greater," Takeru theorized. "Maybe this was a warm-up." 

"Practicing? On a group of defenseless travelers?" Miyako wondered. "Doesn't seem like much of a practice." 

"It seemed to me the brigands were afraid," Hawkmon stated. "They left as soon as there was a real retaliation; they didn't even make an attempt to assist their comrade. Not trustworthy soldiers, if you ask me." 

"I wonder what that Wormmon's role was," Koushiro spoke up. "What reason would a lone Wormmon have for saving the Airdramon tamer?" 

"Maybe he was working with them?" Yamato thought aloud. 

"No," Piyomon disagreed. "Then he would have attempted to save the man afterwards – to pull him to safety." 

"It was more like he was an impartial observer," Miyako explained. "He didn't want the rider to die, but he didn't want to haul him to safety either." 

"He had to have some sort of reason," Yamato frowned, disagreeing. 

"I find it intriguing that the evolution was in response to a danger _other_ than Sora's," Koushiro continued. "I'm sure that must have _some_ significance." 

"Maybe the evolutionary requirements have changed now?" Taichi wondered. 

"I don't think so," Jyou spoke up for the first time. "The danger element was there, it was just redirected. Perhaps the first evolution makes it easier, so that danger doesn't have to be as great – that is, personally directed – for it to occur afterwards." 

"That's a logical probability," Koushiro agreed. 

"There's another reason you're here, too," Taichi spoke up again. "Koushiro, your turn." 

The young wizard nodded and reached into his shirt, pulling out a string with a strange pendant attached. "Recently, Mimi and I went to find Gennai," he began. "We found these." He indicated the pendant. Miyako turned her head and saw that Mimi was wearing one as well. 

"They're called tags," Mimi clarified. 

Koushiro nodded in affirmation. "According to Gennai, they hold something called a crest," he continued. "Those crests tap into a strength within the partner to help to evolve the digimon to an even higher level." 

"Higher?" Sora repeated. "There are hardly _any_ digimon above adult level. And none with human partners." 

"For now," the wizard agreed. "But there will be if we find the crests and get them to function correctly. There are eight tags. Six of them go to those of us who were able to evolve our digimon previously – myself, Taichi, Mimi, Sora, Yamato, and Jyou. The other two, Gennai wasn't able to identify." 

As he spoke, Mimi reached into the pockets of her skirt and removed the other three tags. She handed them out as Koushiro identified their owners. 

"How do we find the crests?" Yamato wondered as he hesitantly put his on over his head. 

Koushiro restated what the old man had told them about the magic within them. "Some may be hidden here in the palace," he theorized. 

"So the crests help the digimon evolve?" Sora repeated. "Does that mean the digivices are useless now?" 

The wizard frowned. "I don't think so," he replied. "I think that they just – enhance the power. The digimon still evolve without the crests, but with the crest magic they can evolve further." 

Jyou frowned pessimistically. "If we need to evolve higher that means there are probably others that can evolve even higher," he noted. "That means we'll have another fight on our hands soon." 

"We knew that already," Gomamon told him. "Don't you remember the scary guy in the dark cape that paid us a visit?" 

The doctor shivered. "Don't remind me." 

***

Daisuke stretched out as luxuriously as possible in the back of the carriage. It was nice to have one to himself. Plenty of room. 

Hikari, who was accompanying them on the return to the palace, was riding with his sister, Jun, in another carriage. The leader of the men who had kidnapped him had been left at home for their father to deal with. His father, still feeling the effects of the death of Daisuke's mother, was remaining at home. Daisuke hadn't been sure his sister would go either

"Mother would have wanted us to enjoy ourselves, wouldn't she?" the older sibling had reasoned. He had to agree, and it was that line of logic that finally convinced him to make the journey as well. 

"I hope _this_ party isn't cancelled," V-mon spoke up, cutting into his thoughts and reminding the boy that he was not entirely alone in the carriage. The last celebration they had planned to attend was cut short after danger and injury had made it impossible. 

"Probably won't be," his partner replied, closing his eyes and enjoying the sun. Suddenly, a shrill beeping noise cut into his dazed state, jolting him out of his half-asleep state and into awareness once more. 

"What is that?" V-mon wondered. 

Daisuke cautiously reached into his pocket and removed his digivice. "This thing," he realized. He looked at the screen. "It's detecting something, I think." 

"What?" 

"I don't know. Should we look for it?" 

"Probably," the blue digimon stated. "We're not in a hurry, are we?" 

"Nope. Hey!" the boy stuck his head out the window. "Stop!" 

The carriages both jolted to a stop. "What's going on?" Jun asked, exiting the carriage in front of him. "We ate already." 

"I know," her brother replied. He held out his digivice. "You getting this?" he asked Hikari. 

The princess reached into the pocket of her own dress and removed her identical blue box. "No," she replied. "I don't get anything." 

"I'm going to see what it is. You two can go on ahead." 

Hikari shook her head. "I'm coming. I want to know what it is, too."

Jun frowned and looked at the sky, trying to judge the time. "How far are we?" 

"There are at least another few hours to go." 

She shrugged. "I'm not in a hurry. I'll come, too." 

***

A few minutes later, after bringing a bag of supplies and sending a messenger ahead in one of the carriages, the three young people left the safety of the road, leaving the drivers to watch the remaining luggage and carriage, and headed off, Daisuke in the lead, digivice held in front of him. They walked through a forest, the leaves crunching beneath them as they walked. 

"I'm not sure I get what we're doing," his older sister confessed. "What do those little boxes _do_, anyway?" 

"They help evolution," Tailmon replied. "That's pretty much all we can say." 

"How?" 

The feline digimon shrugged. "I haven't a clue," she replied. 

Alraumon, Jun's partner, spoke up. "Neither of you have evolved, have you?" she asked of V-mon and Tailmon. Both shook their heads. "Then, what's the point?"

"We're not sure," Hikari repeated. "We know what they do, and we're not going to lose them." 

Daisuke, who had been paying no attention to the conversation, suddenly turned to the left and nearly tripped over a rock. "It's getting closer, I think."

"Do we have _any_ idea what we're looking for?" Jun asked. 

"Nope." 

"How far is it, Daisuke?" V-mon asked. 

"We're getting closer," Daisuke repeated. "It should be just over here." He ducked under some low tree-branches and climbed over a large rock.

"In there?" Hikari wondered, pointing ahead. There was a small cave just in front of them. 

"Looks like it." He held out his digivice, turned a few times in different directions, and nodded. "In there." 

There was a moment's hesitation, and then the small group entered the cave. At the far end were a plaque and a red and yellow object, both of which were placed on raised rock platforms. 

"I think this is what we're looking for," V-mon stated. 

"What does the sign say?" Tailmon questioned, trying to read the words but failing because it was above her head. 

Hikari peered at the old markings. "I could use some light," she frowned, squinting in the dimness of the cave. 

"Wait – I've got some." Daisuke opened the bag he had brought from the carriage and removed a small lantern. A few moments later, there was enough light to see.

"It says _'digimental yuuki'_," she read. "_'Only the rightful owner can move the digimental which belongs to them.'_" 

"Digimental yuuki?" Jun repeated. "Yuuki means – courage?" 

Hikari nodded. "Koushiro told us about digimentals," she remembered. "He said they were rumored to be myths from ancient times. Then again, so was Demon, but we saw him." 

"So this is the digimental yuuki," Daisuke repeated. "I wonder who the rightful owner is." 

"Maybe it's yours, Hikari," Tailmon theorized. Hikari shrugged. "Try moving it." 

Hikari stepped forwards and tried to lift the strange round object, but failed. The digimental remained firmly attached to the rock. "Nope. Must be yours," she said to Daisuke. 

"Mine?" 

"Well, that would make sense," Jun noted. "You _are_ the one who found it." 

"Yeah, that's right, I did," her brother recalled. "All right, I'll try." He stepped forward and placed his hands on the egg-shaped digimental. He braced himself for a major tug, and lifted with all his might. 

And fell backwards into the sign, because the strength he used was more than was needed. 

"I guess it's mine," he decided, looking at the strange object in his hands. "But what does it do?" 

Before either of the girls could speculate, a rumbling sound shook the ground. "_Spinning Needle!"_ a deep voice shouted. 

"Airdramon?" Tailmon recognized the attack. "Why would they attack?" 

"There's something else out there, too," Daisuke noted. "Airdramon attacks wouldn't shake the ground."

A few moments later, they had rushed outside. "What is that?" Alraumon gasped. 

The digimon before them laughed. "Bone Club!" he shouted, slamming a large club to the ground. 

"That would be Ogremon," Tailmon informed the group as they struggled to stay on their feet. "He's adult level, and pretty strong."

"What do we do?" Jun shouted. 

"Run!" Daisuke shouted. "Scatter! Before that Airdramon can attack again!" 

Without another word, the group scattered into the woods beyond the cave. Daisuke hid behind a tree. "There's got to be something we can do," V-mon grumbled as they caught their breaths. 

Daisuke looked at the strange orange and yellow digimental in his hands. "Courage," he noted. "I've got to use courage to make it work." 

"Courage?" V-mon repeated, somewhat interested now. 

"I think so. I've got to  - _be brave_. Yeah! I can do that!" With sudden conviction, he found himself forming the words before he was completely conscious of what he was saying. "Digimental Up!" 

The egg shaped digimental began to glow. Daisuke shielded his eyes, and heard his digivice squealing loudly. "V-mon armor evolve!" he heard his partner shout. 

A moment later the light had faded. A tall, blue digimon stood on two legs. Its claws, feet, chest, thighs, and head were covered with armor in the same red and yellow color scheme as the digimental. "Fladramon!" 

Daisuke barely had time to stare in surprise when the ugly green digimon reappeared. "Bone Club!" Ogremon shouted, swinging his vicious club. 

The human boy dodged out of the way, diving behind another tree, and his partner leapt into the air to avoid the attack. "Fire Rocket!" he shouted, bringing his front claws together. Fire leapt from the digimon's fists, and shot at his opponent. 

"Augh! That hurts!" Ogremon shouted. He turned and ran, trying desperately to douse the fire on his head. 

"Boy, that was easier than I thought," Daisuke noted. 

"Where are the others?" 

Before he could reply to his partner's question, a scream came from a few feet away. "The Airdramon!" Daisuke realized.

***

Yea! Cliffhanger! Okay, okay, don't all throw tomatoes at once. I'll get the next part up soon, I promise. School's done – yea! So I have something called _gasp_ Free time! 

I try to keep some things the same as the show, but some things are obviously different. So therefore Daisuke discovers his digimental _before_ any of the others discover the crests. And since this story deals quite a bit with Taichi, he's _not_ going to be the first to discover his crest. Coming up soon will be some real drama, in case this isn't dramatic enough. And yeah, Ken does show up eventually. I promise! ^_^


	4. Part Four: Home and Discussions

The Reign of Courage

Part Four: Home and Discussions

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon is not mine. I borrowed it without permission, and I get no money. Why, then, am I doing this? ::shrug:: No one knows.

***

Hikari dived out of the way as quickly as possible, making herself flat against the ground as the Airdramon flew overhead. "He's coming awfully close!" she shouted. 

"What happened to my brother?" Jun shouted from a few feet away. 

"He did say to split up," Alraumon reminded her as they got to their feet to begin running again. 

"Yeah, he probably meant _'every one for themselves,'_" she replied sarcastically. 

"Here he comes again!" Tailmon shouted the warning. The trees crashed violently, making way for the giant flying digimon. Jun let out a scream, and the group flattened themselves to the ground again. 

"Fire Rocket!" a deeper voice called, and a stream of fire shot through the air, nailing the invading Airdramon in the skull. It retreated into the air, circling and preparing to attack again. 

"What the - ?" Hikari questioned. 

"Hikari! Jun! Get out of there! Hurry!" Daisuke's voice filtered through the forest. Without thinking, both girls rose to their feet and began to follow the sound. As they ran, Hikari spotted a blue and red colored digimon preparing to shoot another fiery attack at the Airdramon. 

"Spinning Needle!" the Airdramon called. Hikari, Jun, and their digimon dodged the attack by mere inches and made it to the safety of the trees. There, they met up with their breathless rescuer, who was too busy paying attention to the battle to even notice them. 

"Get him back, Fladramon!" Daisuke shouted at the new digimon, peering through the trees. 

Fladramon dodged the spinning needle attack with little effort, leaping effortlessly to the higher branches of a nearby tree. "Fire Rocket!" he called again. The Airdramon cried out in pain. 

"That's enough!" a voice from somewhere above called. The others turned their heads to the sky, just in time to see another Airdramon, this one with a human rider, fly overhead. "Come on!" the human called, and the Airdramon below abandoned its battle with Fladramon and flew after him. 

"Hey!" Daisuke shouted, but the attacker was gone before he had even shouted. 

A white glow surrounded Fladramon, and he shrank back to V-mon. A bright light shot at Daisuke, and he felt something heavy in his pocket. His digivice, in his opposite hand, was glowing, too, and it changed shape. Now, it was curved, and a darker blue color. 

"It changed," V-mon observed. Daisuke reached into his pocket and removed a small flat, white box. He opened the lid on the front and saw a small picture of an egg inside, blinking slightly. 

"The digimental?" Hikari questioned. He nodded. 

"I figured since it was Courage, that's what I had to do to use it. And it worked," he explained. He held up his digivice. "But I don't understand why my digivice _changed_." 

"Maybe Koushiro will have a theory," Tailmon proposed. 

Her partner laughed. "Koushiro has a theory about _everything_," she reminded her. 

***

Taichi frowned, pacing back and forth on a balcony that overlooked the front entrance to the palace. Agumon sat nearby, watching him. 

"Something wrong?" he asked.

The young Prince startled, having been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed his partner. He sighed, and paused pacing to peer out at the land. "'Kari's not back yet," he reported, slipping into the nickname he had called her when they were younger. 

"She's probably fine," Agumon assured him, walking across the balcony and standing beside him. 

Taichi frowned. "I'm not sure, Agumon," he admitted. "She's never been late before." 

Agumon shrugged. "She probably got delayed a bit," he assured him. "She's probably fine." 

"She was supposed to be back this morning. This afternoon at the latest." 

The yellow dinosaur didn't know how to reply. He shrugged and peered out at the road. It was past dark now, and after a few feet of light the castle itself gave off, the road curved onward into the darkness that surrounded it. "It's cold out here," he remarked, wrapping his arms about himself.

Taichi shrugged. "So go inside," he replied, hardly paying attention to his partner's complaints. Agumon peered up at him, and saw he was shivering slightly.

He didn't turn from his watch on the road as the little digimon reentered the palace. The road was still empty. Still no sign of Hikari. _'If she's been hurt,'_ he thought, clenching his fist almost unconsciously. 

"Daisuke can take care of her," another voice said from behind him. In shock, he whirled around. 

"Sora. You're not supposed to – !" 

"Know about where Hikari is. I know." She stepped out on the balcony, holding something in her arms. "Why don't you come inside? It's cold." 

He shook his head absently. "I'm fine," he replied. "Who told you about Hikari?" 

"Agumon. Don't worry, I know how to keep a secret." 

He turned his head away, back to the road. "He wasn't supposed to tell anyone," he grumbled. He noticed a weight on his shoulders. 

"If you won't come inside, at least don't freeze out here," Sora explained as she wrapped the blanket over him. "Agumon didn't give it willingly. Piyomon and I had to wrestle it out of him." 

He chuckled slightly. A silence covered them for a few moments, and Sora leaned on the railing beside him. "I'm just worried," he explained. "She's never been out there – alone – like this." 

Sora didn't take her eyes off the darkened road when she spoke. "Hikari's not a baby anymore." 

Taichi sighed. "I know. That's what she told me." 

"Daisuke won't let anything happen to her. Nor will Tailmon." 

"I hope not." He pulled his eyes away from the road for a moment. "Sora – do you think I'm being unfair to her?" 

"Unfair?" She turned to him and met his eyes, then shook her head. "No. You're worried, Taichi. That's normal." 

He nodded and then looked at his feet for a moment. "I'm just – I suppose I'm a bit scared." 

Sora put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You have every right to be," she assured him. "You're growing up, and you're facing a tough task." She gestured to the outside world again. "This is all yours, and you're still young. But you can handle it. I know you can." 

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "I hope so," he repeated, meeting her eyes again. 

"Tai! I see something!" 

Both Sora and he turned their heads. They hadn't noticed, during their conversation, that Agumon and Piyomon had both wandered out to the balcony with them. Now Agumon was pointing out at the road. A small shape was moving in the darkness. 

"That's her!" Before anyone could move, Taichi had darted back inside and was racing through the palace to meet his sister. Sora and the digimon followed a moment later. 

***

Hikari forced her tired eyes open. "We're almost there," Daisuke spoke, shaking her shoulder lightly. "Jun," he whispered to his sister. "We're arriving." 

"It's about time," Jun mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "I feel like we've been traveling for the past year." 

"How late is it?" Hikari wondered. 

"Almost midnight, I think," he replied. She groaned. 

"Be prepared for a big scene with my brother," she warned. "He might nearly flatten you. I was supposed to return this afternoon." 

"We would have, if we hadn't stopped," Daisuke reminded her. "But we have a digimental. Hopefully that'll save me. And we did send that messenger." 

"That's true. Maybe." 

Jun patted her brother's shoulder and grinned. "Don't worry, little brother. I'll come to the funeral." 

Daisuke groaned. 

A few minutes later, the carriage crawled to a stop. Daisuke stretched and yawned, then climbed out, holding the door the for the others as they exited. 

"Hikari!" a voice called almost before she was completely out. Something that Daisuke could only identify as a blur rushed past him and latched on to the Princess. 

"I'm fine, Taichi, don't worry," Hikari assured him as he helped her out of the carriage. 

"You were supposed to be here this afternoon," he admonished. "What happened?" 

Jun stepped out of the carriage and whispered to her brother. "How come you're never that worried about _me_?" 

Daisuke forced himself not to laugh. "You've never done anything dangerous and stupid," he replied. 

"Oh, that's right. That's _your_ job," Jun replied, chuckling now. 

"I'm sorry we're so late, Tai," Hikari explained, yawning. "We got stopped by something. We'll explain in the morning. I'm too tired right now. Didn't you get the message?" 

He frowned and shook his head. "Message?" 

"We sent a message ahead of us so you wouldn't worry to much," she replied. "It didn't arrive?" 

Taichi glanced at Sora, who shook her head as well. "No. No message," he repeated. 

"That's strange…" Hikari mused. Then yawned again. "I'm going to bed, Tai. Good night." 

Her brother nodded and motioned to Sora. "Can you go with them?" he asked. 

 "Come on," Sora stepped forward, smiling politely, leading the girls into the palace. She could tell that the tour-guide role was only so that Taichi could be certain Hikari was all right. And, he probably wanted a word alone with Daisuke. "Don't be too hard on him," she whispered as she left. 

Taichi pretended to ignore her, even though she was certain he had heard. 

"I guess you want to talk to me, huh?" Daisuke said with a nervous laugh. 

***

"So with the digimental, V-mon was able to armor evolve, and that Ogremon was no match," Daisuke concluded. 

"What about the Airdramon?" Sora wondered, having rejoined the boys in the study where they were talking. 

"That's the strange part," V-mon replied sleepily. "I didn't think I'd be able to take him on my own. But, just as I was making progress, he left." 

"He left?" Agumon was skeptical. 

"He did," Daisuke nodded. "Another one flew overhead, with a rider, who shouted 'That's enough!' and they both took off." 

"More tamed Airdramon?" Koushiro muttered. He was examining the digivice and the strange white box which now contained the digimental. 

"More?" Daisuke repeated. 

"It's along story, but Miyako and I were attacked by a group of tamed Airdramon. They flew off when Piyomon was able to evolve and didn't cause any damage," Sora explained. 

"We thought it might have been an isolated incident, but now it appears their efforts could be .organized," Koushiro added helpfully. 

"We'll discuss it in the morning," Taichi spoke up, yawning. "It's late now. After breakfast, we'll meet back here. Everyone," he added for good measure. Then he turned and left the room, Agumon trailing behind him. 

Daisuke blinked. "That's it?" 

"It _is_ late," Koushiro reminded him as he returned the digivice and the strange white digimental container. "Get some sleep." With that, the little wizard was also gone. 

"Come on, Daisuke. I'm going your way," Sora said. She held open the door and they entered the hallway. "You know, Miyako wanted me to ask you something," she added as a conversation starter once they were in the corridor. 

"Ask _me_ something?" he repeated, sufficiently surprised. 

"I woke her up when I was bringing your sister to our suite," she explained. "When she heard you were in, she wanted me to ask you about Ken." Sora chuckled slightly, as if to a secret joke. "I think she may be worried about him," she added in a whisper. 

Daisuke grinned. "I think her feelings are stronger than just worrying," he confided. "And I think they might be returned. But don't get him to admit it." He laughed to himself as well. 

"No, Miyako's too stubborn to confess it either," the other agreed. "But there's something there. She wanted me to ask you if he was all right." 

He sighed and shrugged. "I wish I knew," he replied in a serious voice. "I had thought he was coming here, but now I'm not so sure. I haven't heard from him since he went home to be with his mother." 

Sora nodded. Miyako had told her that Ken's father had recently passed away, and about the trip to the manor he called home. "I'll tell her," she replied. By this time, they had reached the corridor where their rooms were located. "I suppose I'll see you in the morning then? Good night." She retreated into her own bedroom. 

"In the morning," Daisuke agreed, yawning again and heading to bed. It was not long after his head hit the pillow that he journeyed to dreamland. 

***

"The only thing I don't understand is how those men knew who you were," Hikari confessed. She, Daisuke, Taichi, Sora, and their respective digimon were meeting early that morning to discuss what she had been sent out to do. 

Daisuke shrugged. "I'm not sure either," he admitted. "I've been in that area _hundreds_ of times. A few times without hiding who I was, and quite a few more hiding. It makes sense that _some_ of the villagers would be able to put two and two together." 

"Wearing a hat _isn't_ the best disguise," Tailmon commented dryly, her arms folded across her chest. 

He shrugged again. "What else would I do? No one else has hair like this," he gestured to the 'mop' on his head, "so I had to hide it. The best way was to wear a hat." 

"Did your father make many enemies?" Sora questioned. 

The boy shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of," he replied. "Sure, he could have made some before I was around, but none that I knew of, and I try to be pretty aware of what was going on. I think that some of them just resented authority figures. Father is just the authority in the area to avoid." 

"It doesn't even _have_ to be personal," Hikari spoke up. "If they knew who he was, they'd know that they would be able to get some sort of ransom for him. I just wish we'd been able to get some answers out of them. But they all got away." She sighed. 

"Just be glad they recognized Daisuke and not you," Taichi advised. He sighed and massaged his forehead. "You were both _very_ lucky." 

There was a knock on the door. Iori entered a moment later. "Breakfast is ready," he informed them before slipping out again. 

***

As soon as breakfast was over, Koushiro, Iori, Jyou, and Mimi had to return to their work. Koushiro wanted to further analyze the strange new digivice that Daisuke had. Jyou needed to deal with some patients and avoid Mimi, who was in the crucial phase of flower selections. Iori had diplomatic duties to attend to, as other guests were beginning to arrive. Mimi needed to go over a few of the flowers and some wardrobe choices for Hikari. 

Miyako and Sora had planned to spend the morning walking leisurely around the grounds, but Taichi decided that it would be a good idea to discuss what had occurred on the trip back. He convinced Takeru and Yamato to postpone the fencing duel they had planned for that morning and join them. 

This time, the group met in the empty throne room. It was much as Miyako had remembered. The huge wooden doors opened into the room and a long red carpet trailed down to where four elaborate marble thrones overlooked the area from a raised platform. The room was empty now, but full of flowers of every kind. Banners and decorations covered the walls. 

"I'm guessing this is where the party will be," Yamato noted dryly. 

Taichi just sighed and gestured to the abundance of flowers. "I wouldn't mind so much if she would just _decide," _he stated. "There are flowers of _every kind._ And she can't decide which to use!" He massaged his forehead again. "I hope Hikari can help." 

"Well, it's certainly – colorful," Takeru noted, trying to be optimistic. 

"Yeah – so colorful it hurts my eyes," Yamato agreed with his brother, though with a less optimistic stance. 

They walked to the very end of the throne room, past the huge amount of flowers and banners and decorations. Miyako half expected Taichi to sit in the throne, but instead he seated himself on the raised platform and peered out at the group, most of whom sat on the floor or stood. 

"Koushiro should be here any second," he said. "But before he does, I guess you should begin, Daisuke." 

Daisuke began, telling the story of how he and Hikari had been traveling to the palace. He neglected to mention where they had previously been, but no one asked. When he had finished, he showed everyone the little white box that now held the power of the digimental. 

Before anyone had a chance to comment, the doors at the opposite end of the room opened. Koushiro entered, carrying an impossibly large book and Daisuke's digivice in his arms. He appeared as though he were about to drop the book. Quickly, Takeru jumped to his feet and dashed across the room to assist the wizard. 

"Thanks," he replied, wiping his brow. He gestured to the flying digimon beside him. "Tentomon was trying to help, but it was too heavy for us." 

"Why did you bring it, then, if it's so hard to carry?" Patamon wondered. 

"It has vital information in it." 

A few moments later, Takeru managed to carry the large book to the front of the room. He placed it on the floor in front of Taichi. It hit the ground with a loud thud. 

"That's _heavy!_" he noted, sinking to the floor again beside his brother. "I don't know how you were able to carry it as far as you did, Koushiro!" 

The young wizard shrugged. "I'm not as weak as I appear," he replied with a somewhat mysterious expression.

"All right, Koushiro, what's so important about the book?" Yamato questioned. 

He didn't reply immediately. Instead, he opened the book and began to flip through the pages. "Just a second, I'll find it." After a moment, he stopped and pointed a finger at the page he had stopped on. "Here it is!" 

Daisuke peered over the wizard's shoulder. "That's my digivice!" he realized. 

"It is," Koushiro nodded. He held up Daisuke's actual digivice and gave it to its owner. "These are known as D3s." 

"D-3?" Miyako repeated. She looked at her own, ordinary-looking blue box. "What makes them different from ours?" 

He shrugged. "I'm dealing with mostly speculation here," he replied. "Most of these stories – especially this book – deal with D3s – with digivices even – as mere myths. They were handed down so many times over the years that eventually they lost some of their truth. This particular book is over two-hundred years old and it has absolutely no information about crests. It does, however, have extensive information on the digimentals." 

"All right – what _can_ you tell us?" Sora asked. 

"There are nine different digimentals," Koushiro explained. "Daisuke found the first, yuuki, or courage. The others are friendship, love, purity, faith, knowledge, hope, light, and kindness. According to some research I've done, the crests have similar qualities, but I can't be sure. As I said, this is all very ancient information. Mythology almost." 

"But Koushiro – there are only _eight_ tags," Yamato reminded him. 

"That's one thing that all these books have in common," Koushiro replied with a suddenly grave face. "The existence of the crest or digimental of kindness is very clouded. They all refer to _'kindness in the dark.'_ I don't know what that means, but I think it means that whoever possesses that particular attribute is somehow different."

"Different?" Miyako and Daisuke spoke in unison. 

"Courage, friendship, love, purity," Taichi spoke the words as if in a trance. "When we were on that hill -." 

"The King referred to us by those terms," Sora continued. 

"Does that mean that he _knew_ about the crests and digimentals?" Takeru wondered. 

"No," Yamato replied. "He was referring to a prophecy – wasn't he?" 

"That prophecy must have somehow been related to these attributes," Koushiro theorized. 

"My father – he used that exact same phrase -," Taichi recalled. "'_Kindness in the dark.'_ But who is that?" 

"I thought he referred to Iori as kindness," Koushiro spoke up. "But I don't remember very much." 

"I remember that, too," Takeru spoke up. "But then he called him Faith." 

There was a moment of silence. No one spoke. 

"I don't remember very much at all about that night," Sora admitted. "At least not before Leomon de-evolved." 

"I don't either," Yamato stated.

"It's all blurry," Takeru agreed. "I don't remember who he referred to as each." 

Koushiro cleared his throat. "What I can tell you about digimentals is all theory, of course. But this is what I get from this book is this. Digimentals are activated by using the attribute assigned to them. As you discovered, Daisuke, courage activated the digimental of yuuki. Feelings of love or friendship would activate those digimentals. The digimental also protects the digimon – though I'm not certain how. As you could probably tell, digimon don't evolve ordinarily to adult level, but to armor level through use of these devices." 

"Armor evolution," Daisuke nodded. He looked at V-mon. "That's what you called out when you evolved." V-mon nodded. 

"Is there any way you could demonstrate?" Miyako asked before she could stop herself. "I'd love to see how they work." 

"So would I," Takeru admitted. 

Daisuke looked at V-mon, who shrugged. "I guess so." 

"Wait!" Sora spoke up. "Will there be room in here?" 

Piyomon looked at her partner. "Room?" she asked. "It's the biggest room in the palace." She gestured to the large expanse.

"If you evolved in here, we'd be short on space," she reminded her. 

"No, it's fine," V-mon stated. "I don't get that big." 

Daisuke looked at Taichi, who shrugged. "If you can, evolve in here," he replied with a casual shrug. He, too, was excited to see how this new evolution worked, though he wasn't showing it. 

"Great," Daisuke grinned. "Ready?" V-mon nodded. The boy held the digimental container in the air. "Digimental Up!" he shouted. 

The bright light that followed was ordinary enough. "V-mon armor evolve!"

A few moments later, the light faded, and the taller blue digimon appeared, complete with the stylized armor. "Fladramon!" 

"See?" Daisuke reported. "I told you he's not very big." Fladramon stood only a foot or so taller than he was. 

The others were too surprised to speak. 

"It's so – easy!" Koushiro noted. 

"No element of danger required at all," Yamato agreed. 

"No last minute rescues," Taichi stated. 

"And the power _has _to be comparable, right?" Sora spoke up. 

There was a pause. Koushiro peered at the page in the book. "'_Armor evolutions had slightly weaker attacks than the ordinary adult evolution. But they had greater defensive power,'_" he read. "I guess that's what the book means about the armor protecting the digimon." 

***

Miyako sat lazily on the wall overlooking the palace gardens. "It's so nice," she observed, feeling the sun on her face. "I'm glad we could be outside today." 

"You'd be glad if you _lived_ outside," Hawkmon reminded her. 

"Ech, no. Not in the winter," Miyako replied. "I don't like freezing to death." 

"No one does," Piyomon spoke up. 

"Sora! Good, you're back. Ready to go for that walk?" 

Sora nodded. "Yes. Let's go before it gets too late," she agreed. 

"We certainly picked a good day for it," Miyako smiled contentedly as she hopped off the wall. 

The two girls began walking along the outside wall of the grounds. The expanse of gardens around the palace was quite a large amount of land, but if they stayed within the walls they might possibly be back within two hours. 

They passed the area near the greenhouse where they had picnicked several weeks earlier. Miyako recalled the fight that had followed the eating, and noted that Takeru, Yamato, and Daisuke were using the land now to hold their own fencing tournament. Currently, Takeru and Daisuke were battling while Yamato observed, both as judge, spectator, and referee. The younger boys were too busy, but he waved to the girls as they passed, and Sora and Miyako waved back. 

They continued walking along, past the archery practice area, where they had held an archery tournament Miyako's first day of visiting the palace. The long tournament that had resulted had gone on for nearly an hour, but only between two of the competitors. Miyako mentally reminded herself never to get into such a contest with either Taichi or Ken. 

For quite some time, they walked in silence, each girl immersed in her own thoughts. It was Sora who finally broke the silence. "I've not seen Momoe lately." 

Miyako nodded. Her pregnant older sister had been sharing a suite of rooms with Mimi and was becoming friends with her and Jun. "She's been having morning sickness the past few days," she replied. "She doesn't like to come to breakfast." 

"I don't blame her. Is she worried?" 

"Not especially. She saw Jyou yesterday, and he said she seemed to be doing fine. She's still very early, and he's a good doctor, so there's no real concern – yet." 

"That must be a relief," Sora noted. "Not only for her but for your parents." 

"Mama can't understand why she would want to travel when she's got a baby on the way," Miyako confessed. "But she and Nouka haven't been getting along very well, she told me. If she were to be at home, the stress might damage the baby."

"That makes sense. Hopefully this trip will be calming for her." 

"Unless there are more Airdramon attacks," Hawkmon stated. 

"Or crazy people running around trying to kill us," Piyomon added with a sigh.

Miyako frowned. "I really don't think a band of rogue Airdramon tamers would attack the palace," she stated. 

"But you don't know much about Airdramon tamers, do you?" Hawkmon countered. 

"Do you?" 

"No," he admitted. "But it could be in their nature to attack palaces on foolhardy missions." 

"I sincerely doubt they are _that_ foolhardy," Sora noted, and Miyako couldn't help agreeing. 

Before anyone could speculate further, they were nearly knocked over as three boys and three digimon quickly darted past them. "Hey!" Miyako called. 

"Oh! Sorry!" Daisuke called over his shoulder. 

"What's the hurry?" Piyomon demanded. 

"Yamato thinks he might have found his crest!" Takeru shouted. 

"Crest?" Sora repeated. "Wait for us!" 

Both girls and their digimon started quickly after the boys, who were darting across the grounds as quickly as possible. Yamato was in the lead, holding his tag that he wore around his neck in front of him, letting the glowing pendant guide him. Gabumon trailed behind him, panting as he tried to keep up with his partner. Daisuke and Takeru jogged a few feet behind, unable to keep speed. V-mon was at his partner's heels, and Patamon flew near Takeru's head. 

Miyako lifted her cumbersome skirts and she and Sora quickly reached Daisuke and Takeru. "Gave up on the fight already?" she asked. 

"He made us stop when the tag started reacting," Takeru replied, panting slightly. Miyako could see that sweat still dripped down his brow – not only from the running but also from the fight before. 

"Yeah – you owe me a rematch!" Daisuke reminded him. 

Suddenly, Yamato stopped running. They were near the edge of the Monochromon enclosure. 

Though many digimon could be used to pull carriages, these large gray digimon were the ones most often used. They were not especially fleet-footed, but they were strong and usually even-tempered. At the palace, a herd of no less than three hundred Monochromon were kept, not only for useful tasks such as carriage pulling and assistance in the plowing of the fields, but also for defense and for the simple show of wealth. 

At the palace, there were extensive stables built to keep them safe during the winter months, and there were also large fields, separated from the rest of the grounds by fences, in which they could roam and relax when not working. 

Yamato stared blankly at the huge field. "Do we have to go in there?" Gabumon wondered. 

He peered at his crest. "I think so," he replied. "But where? There's nothing in there except Monochromon. Hundreds of them. Maybe more." 

Daisuke, Takeru, Miyako, and Sora arrived a moment later. "Maybe one of the Monochromon has it?" Daisuke wondered. 

"Why would a Monochromon have a crest?" V-mon questioned. Daisuke didn't have a response. 

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out," Yamato decided. Without another thought, he climbed over the wooden fence and entered the enclosure. Gabumon followed a moment later. 

"Yamato!" Sora warned. "Be careful! Monochromon _can_ be short tempered if you anger them." 

He shrugged and waved aside the warning. "I know, Sora. You don't have to worry about me." 

Takeru looked worried about his brother, but said nothing. The observers leaned against the fence to watch. 

At first, all was uneventful. Yamato wandered deeper into the Monochromon enclosure, wisely avoiding any of the large digimon. "It's getting closer, Gabumon, I know it is. I just don't know _where._"

Gabumon said nothing, but followed his partner, keeping his eyes out for anything that might resemble a crest. Suddenly, he noticed, ahead of them, a small pile of stones arranged in a circle. "Yamato!" he spoke up, tugging on his partner's leg. "I think it might be in _there_." 

The tall blond boy turned in the direction his digimon pointed. "A well? Maybe." 

A short time later they had reached the well. Yamato could see something glowing a far distance inside it. "It's definitely down there, Gabumon," he noted. He observed a pile of rope beside the well. "I'm going to climb in. You hold the rope." 

"Are you sure?" Gabumon questioned. "It looks awfully far down." 

"I'll be all right," Yamato assured him. "Just hold the rope." 

"All right," the digimon relented. He held the end of the rope securely in his paws and watched as his partner slowly maneuvered into the well and began to climb down. 

It would have been very dark inside the well if it wasn't for the tag around his neck glowing brightly. Yamato slowly made his way deeper and deeper into the earth. The well was very deep, he couldn't see the bottom, and wondered if it even had water. He doubted it, since there had been no buckets nearby. Most likely it was abandoned and had not been used since before the Monochromon had been moved there. 

Suddenly, he noticed something. Directly in front of him on the wall was a strange symbol. Almost without thinking the action through, he raised his tag to meet the symbol. 

The large stone the symbol was etched into suddenly became much smaller. It hovered in midair – by what power he couldn't tell – and then merged itself with the strange tag on his neck. Yamato lifted the tag and stared blankly at the symbol. "I guess this is my crest," he noted, feeling somewhat important even though he had no idea what the symbol – or his crest – meant. 

"Gabumon!" he shouted. "Pull me up!" There was no response from the rope, so he assumed that either the digimon hadn't heard him or else lacked the strength to pull him to the top. He sighed and began the arduous task of climbing back up the side of the well.

***

Yea! I updated!

No cliffhanger this time, as you can see, and still no Ken. Sorry 'bout that. I promise that he'll be in the next chapter, along with a semi-humorous scene or two that could be interpreted as romance-hinting. Ah! Too much info. Oops. Oh well, you'll have to wait for it, won't ya? ^_~

Coming very soon will be more drama-stuff, and that humor I was talking about. Everyone starts to find their crests and someone is kidnapped. Nope, not telling you who it is. ^_^ Plus, the Chosen will discover who their next enemy is.


	5. Part Five: Returns and Departures (Plann...

The Reign of Courage

Part Five: Returns and Departures 

            (Planned and Unplanned)

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon – not mine. ::sigh:: That includes the storyline of the original series, the fabulous characters, and the digimon themselves. The plot of _this_ story, however, is mine and all mine. Remember, don't steal, and don't sue. Thanks! Now on with the chapter you've been waiting for!

***

Koushiro peered at the strange pendant that Yamato now wore around his neck. "You found it?" he stated. "Prodigious!" 

No one bothered to ask what that strange word meant. "Can you tell me which one it is?" Yamato asked impatiently. 

"Certainly." Koushiro disappeared amongst the piles of books and reappeared on the opposite side. 

"How can you even breathe in here?" Takeru wondered, peering into the strange laboratory from behind his brother. 

"It's not usually this bad," Tentomon apologized, moving a pile of books out of the way so the visitors could enter. "He's just been working so hard on this stuff lately he's forgotten to clean up." 

Miyako peered hesitantly at a bubbling pot. "Well, at least he takes his work seriously," she noted, trying to look on the positive side. 

"Oh yes," Sora replied. "Very seriously."   
"So seriously in fact, he hardly ever turns away from it," Daisuke supplied. 

"Aha!" the young wizard shouted triumphantly. The visitors slowly made their way past the piles of books and potions and peered over his shoulder. 

"What is it?" Patamon questioned, having the best view from atop his partner's head. 

"The same symbol that's on my crest," Yamato noted. The drawing was exactly the same as the symbol he had seen on the wall of the well, which was now on his crest. 

"This is the crest of youjou," Koushiro replied. 

"Youjou!?" Yamato repeated, astonished. 

"Friendship?" Gabumon translated. The wizard nodded. 

"Exactly." 

"_How_?" 

"What do you mean how?" 

"How did _I_ get the crest of friendship?" Yamato wondered. He frowned. "Is there any way – I could have gotten the wrong one?" 

Koushiro shook his head. "The crest is attracted to the tag," he replied. "The tag is drawn to the crest because it is a channel for your attributes. The crest is therefore attracted to you." 

"I don't get it. What's the problem?" Daisuke wondered. Miyako couldn't help wondering herself.

Yamato only shook his head. "I think it messed up. I don't think this is the right one for me."   
Koushiro frowned. "There's no possible way you could have a crest that doesn't belong to you," he replied. "They're magically linked to their owners." 

"Yamato –," Gabumon spoke up. 

The boy just shook his head again in disbelief and left the room before anyone could say anything else. 

"Yamato!" Takeru called. 

"Just leave me alone, Takeru," his brother's voice called from down the hall. Takeru sighed. 

"What's the matter?" Miyako questioned. 

Takeru shrugged. "Yamato's never felt very much a part of – people," he explained somewhat meekly. "You know, like a group. I'll bet he thinks he doesn't deserve the crest of friendship." He frowned worriedly. 

"Certainly seems that way," Sora noted. 

"The crest wouldn't go to someone it didn't belong to – would it?" Daisuke asked, a worried tone in his voice now. 

"No," Koushiro restated. "The crests, _and the digimentals_," he added for Daisuke's benefit, "only go to those who have those particular traits. The crest of youjou would not have responded to Yamato if he wasn't worthy of it. And you would not have been able to lift the digimental of yuuki if _you_ didn't deserve it." 

Daisuke appeared a bit less worried now. 

***

Yamato leaned on the wall of the balcony outside his room, ostensibly to observe the night sky – as he often did at this time. But he wasn't looking at the sky. Instead, he was looking at the crest that was still around his neck. 

Gabumon stood by him, as always, actually looking at the stars instead of pretending to. Yamato caught a glimpse of his partner. Gabumon was a true friend. He never abandoned his partner unless he was forced to. 

_'Friendship.'_ Yamato tested the word in his brain and sighed. He had never had many close friends. Sure, there were people that he talked to. Taichi, Sora, even Daisuke and Ken could be considered friends. But they weren't _true_ friends. Surely they didn't view him as a valuable person. And he had never been comfortable in large groups. How was it he was supposed to get a crest to activate if he couldn't identify with that attribute? 

Koushiro had theorized that the crests worked in much the way the digimentals did. If that theory were correct, then thinking about friends – wanting to protect his friends – would surely activate the crest the same way Daisuke had described wanting to be brave activating the digimental of courage. But – Yamato couldn't help thinking – what was the use in trying to protect people that weren't truly your friends? Who did view _you_ as a friend?

"Yamato?" Takeru's voice filtered out to the balcony from their suite, and a moment later the younger boy was outside with his brother. "I was looking for you." 

The older boy didn't reply, and the younger took that as a sign that conversation wouldn't be appreciated at that moment. Still, he didn't abandon it. He leaned against the wall instead and peered up at the stars, breathing in the cool night air. "Daisuke and I have to finish our match," he reminded him. "Still want to referee tomorrow?" 

He shrugged. "Maybe." 

"Want to talk?" 

"Not really."   
Takeru sighed. _'At least I tried,'_ he reminded himself. "Well, I'm gonna go take a bath," he decided. "I'll be around if you need me." 

He waited for a response from his brother, but he didn't reply, so Takeru just went back inside. 

***

Miyako pulled the ribbon and the hair pins from her hair and laid them on the dresser. She was dirty from having been outside and sweaty from having run through the grounds. She only had to wait for Sora to finish bathing before she could feel clean again, and was looking forward to it. 

"AGH!" a voice came from the washroom she and Jun shared with Sora. In a flash, she was at the door. Jun was there a second later. 

"Sora?" 

"What's going on?" Miyako questioned. 

Sora appeared a moment later, soap still in her hair and a towel loosely wrapped around her. "The tub sprung a leak!" she declared, obviously quite angry. 

"What?" Jun repeated. She and Miyako peered around the soaking wet girl into the washroom. The floor was covered with water, and the porcelain tub they used to wash was nearly empty, with only soap lining its edges. 

"Great," Miyako grumbled. "No bath for me tonight."

Before anyone else could reply, the door swung open. "What happened?" Daisuke demanded, reacting to Sora's scream. Upon seeing her clad only in a towel, he gasped and covered his eyes with his hand. "Uh – sorry!" he stammered, turning around. 

"Daisuke, _what are you doing here?"_ his sister demanded. 

"My room is across the hall," he explained, still facing the opposite direction. "I heard a scream and thought maybe someone was having an emergency." 

"We are," Miyako spoke up before Jun could interject. "Our bathtub sprung a leak." 

"What sprung a leak?" Mimi had stuck her head in a moment later. "Oh dear! There's water all over the floor. Daisuke, what are you doing here? Go fetch a maid and some towels to clean this up!" 

"Uh – right!" He was gone a second later, relieved to be rid of the situation. 

Jun sighed. "I was looking forward to a bath tonight," she confessed. 

"So was I," Miyako agreed. 

"You can use ours," Mimi offered. "Momoe and I already took baths." 

"Thanks!" Jun replied, grinning. 

Sora sighed, rubbing another towel over her head. "I guess I'll dry off. I'm about clean. I'll get dressed and then go to the kitchen for some water so I can rinse out my hair." 

"Then come by our room!" Mimi grinned. "We can experiment with hair styles for the celebration." 

Daisuke returned a moment later with a small woman wearing an apron behind him. She immediately went to work with a mop to clean the floor. 

"Thanks, Daisuke," Miyako said as Jun bounded after Mimi for the use of her tub. He grinned stupidly. 

"Um – if you want to – you can use my bathtub," he offered. "It's just me now, and I already took a bath. I won't walk in," he added hastily. 

***

Miyako sighed contentedly as she dunked her head under the water and felt the soaps rinsed from her scalp. The bathtub in Daisuke's washroom was (or at least appeared to be) the slightest bit larger than her own, and the servants had filled it nearly to the top. Water splashed over the edges and on to the floor, but she didn't mind. A good bath was just what she needed to get over the stresses of the day. 

As she wrapped the towel around her hair, stepping out of the tub, she heard the outside door open and shut, but ignored it, assuming that Daisuke had gone out. She could hear a voice talking, but paid no attention to it either. 

Wrapping the thick, luxurious towel over her shoulders Miyako felt the heat of the warm towel envelope her from head to foot. She smiled again, feeling as though she was nearly in heaven, and peered in the full length mirror positioned on the door. 

Then the door opened. 

Miyako's heart leaped out of her throat and into the air. She swallowed the scream that was coming and could only gasp. 

The intruder was stunned and appeared to have a similar reaction. Then, the door slammed shut. 

Miyako blinked, stared. Then she quickly rubbed the towel over her body, drying as best she could in what little time she had and then threw her nightshirt over her head and her robe around her shoulders. Ignoring her soaking wet hair, she flung open the door again and stared blankly at the figure that was now occupying the common room of Daisuke's suite. 

"You're back." 

"Miyako – I – um – that is – I didn't mean to walk in – I just thought – that is," he broke off. "Iori _did _say I was sleeping in here." He was confused now.

"It's fine," she assured him. "Our bathtub sprung a leak, and Daisuke offered to let me use this one. He didn't tell me you were back." 

Ken nodded in response, feeling the speed of his heart slowly returning to its normal rate. "I - just got in a minute ago," he replied. "Your bathtub sprung a leak?" 

"Yes – while Sora was using it." 

"Oh. Well that was certainly nice of him." 

There was an awkward silence for a moment and then the door that lead to Daisuke's bedroom opened. The boy in question peered around the door, curious. Then his eyes grew wide and a smile spread across his face.

"You're back!" He dropped the book on the floor and lunged himself at his friend, hugging, shaking hands, and assuring himself he was truly alive. 

"Yes, I just got in," Ken attempted to remain calm while Daisuke reassured himself. 

Miyako only blinked. Daisuke blushed slightly, shrugged, and stepped back. "I haven't seen him in a long time," he defended himself. "And – I was worried." 

"You should be more worried about yourself," Ken replied. "_You're _the one who nearly got himself killed." 

Daisuke shrugged. "Nearly got himself killed?" Miyako repeated. 

Ken was about to get more specific, but Daisuke shook his head. "Sorry. Can't give details." 

"Why not?" Miyako asked. Ken wondered the same thing himself. 

"Secret." 

"So don't tell me – you had to save his life again?" Miyako assumed. 

"Of course." 

"Why now? Or is that a secret, too?" 

Ken glanced to his friend. Daisuke nodded. "Yes. Big secret." 

Miyako shrugged. "Whatever. Hey – I wanted to ask you something. About the Airdramon." 

"Airdramon?" Ken repeated blankly.  

"Haven't you heard about them?" Daisuke asked. "Miyako was attacked by a horde of them on the way here." 

"There wasn't a horde," Miyako corrected. "There was maybe six of them and only one of them attacked us." 

"Six is a horde." 

"Not even close." 

"_I_ consider six to be a horde." 

"A horde is a _huge_ amount. Like a hundred or something. There was a _horde_ of Monochromon in that enclosure today. There was_ not_ a horde of Airdramon." 

"Whatever. Anyway," Daisuke began. 

Ken blinked. "Monochromon?" 

"That's another story. There were _six_ Airdramon. With tamers." 

"Tamers?" 

"Yes. And then, when I was on my way here with Hikari." 

"Why were you with Hikari?" Miyako questioned now.

"Secret. While I was on my way here and I got the digimental, there was another one. And an Ogremon." 

"Digimental?" Ken was rather confused now. They had gone from talking about Airdramon hordes, to small groups of Airdramon, to Monochromon, to Hikari, to digimentals, to Ogremon. _And what was an Ogremon? _

"I think you should start at the beginning," Miyako advised. "It started when I was on the way here, with Sora, my parents, Sora's mother, and my sister, Momoe. We spotted a group of Airdramon. They were _tamed_ Airdramon, because they all had riders. When Lady Takenouchi – Sora's mother, was threatened, Sora was able to evolve Piyomon, and Birdramon drove away all the Airdramon." 

"Except for the rider," Daisuke interjected. 

"Yes," Miyako agreed. "Birdramon knocked one of the riders off the Airdramon, and he fell to the ground." 

"A _huge_ drop," Daisuke interrupted. 

Miyako ignored him. "And he was caught."   
"By a _Wormmon,_" Daisuke interrupted again. 

"Hey!" Miyako slapped him on the back of the head. "Whose story is it?" 

"Ow!" he protested. "What was that for?" 

"You keep interrupting me!" 

"You were going too slow!" 

"That's so he can _understand_ me, dummy!"

Unbeknownst to them, Ken had wandered away during the argument and entered his bedroom. He disappeared for a moment and then reemerged, carrying his partner in his arms. 

"Maybe Wormmon can answer your inevitable questions." He spoke quietly, but it was enough for the battlers to stop their argument and look at him. 

Wormmon's big blue eyes peered expectantly at the others. 

"Was it you?" Miyako blurted before Daisuke could interrupt. He was a second later. 

" - that saved that Airdramon rider?" 

Wormmon blinked. "Yes," he replied. 

"But how?" Daisuke questioned. "If the timing's right – you were with _me_ only a day before." 

"Just because _Ken_ was there doesn't mean_ I_ was," Wormmon replied. 

Ken nodded, agreeing with his partner's statement. "I caught wind of what was going on when I saw Hikari heading to your home late at night," he explained. "I was on my way at the same time, and figured that whatever purpose she had might be better accomplished if I wasn't in the way. So I camped out that night and watched you both leave the next morning." 

"We decided I wasn't going to be much help," Wormmon picked up the story. "So Ken had the carriages head back north and wait for him a few hours distance from the palace.  When I saw Miyako and Sora's families heading there, the Airdramon weren't far behind. I didn't see how I could help in that situation. But Sora seemed pretty upset about that rider getting hurt. And I didn't think it would be a good idea to let him get away, either. So I caught him." 

"The Airdramon were following us?" Miyako shuddered at the implication. 

"Taichi did say that he thought they might have attacked you just because of who you are," Daisuke reminded her. 

"I know," Miyako replied. "But still." She shivered again. 

"You'd be less cold if your hair wasn't wet," Ken noted. 

"Oh. Right." She entered the washroom and found the towel for her hair, which she wrapped around her head. "I guess I should get back," she excused herself with a sigh. "Mimi wants to go over some hair stuff." 

Daisuke frowned. "If she says _anything_ to you about flowers, run," he advised his friend. Miyako laughed to herself as she left, heading down the hall to Mimi's room. 

As soon as she was gone, Ken peered expectantly at him. "There's no point in hiding it from me. I saw what you did with Hikari." 

"You did?" 

He nodded. "You went in to town," he replied. "You stayed with that family, and then you went to the prison. Then you helped that Wizarmon and got yourself into a fight, and got kidnapped." 

"Yeah, that's about it," Daisuke agreed. He sighed. "You can't tell anyone else." 

"Have you ever known me to tell a secret?" 

"No," he admitted. "Taichi asked Hikari, or she persuaded him, to go into the villages and report on how the people live. Seems you told him something about poverty and people that were imprisoned wrongly and that sort of thing." 

Ken nodded. "He wanted to do something about it?" 

Daisuke shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "All Hikari told me was that he asked her to observe and report back. I don't know if they'll do anything about it. I hope they do." 

"So how did it go?" 

"Not bad, except for the getting kidnapped part," he replied with a grin. "She seemed to really like Mama and the kids. We walked around for a bit and then went to the prison." 

"What did you see at the prison?" Ken questioned, curious to know how the well-bred, sheltered Princess had reacted to the scene.

Daisuke frowned slightly. "We looked around. I told her about the solitary confinement hall and she wanted to see it, so we did." 

"And?" 

"I'm not sure. We didn't talk about it." He shivered slightly. "I don't like that place, I never have. I didn't want to show it to her, but she insisted. After that, we looked around some more and then we left. Then that Wizarmon came through. We never talked about it." He frowned. "I don't know _what_ she thought." 

***

Mimi frowned as she pulled the comb through Sora's hair. "Your hair is just too _short_ to do anything exciting with," she complained. "If it was longer, it would look great pulled up halfway, or maybe curled. But this short, it's just not useful." 

"I like it," Sora replied shortly. "I don't complain about your hair. And it's easy to take care of this way." 

"Yes, but when you need to make it look _special_ it just doesn't work." She sighed and paused in her combing, examining her subject in the full sized mirror in front of her. 

The door from the bathroom opened, and Jun entered, dressed now in her nightdress and with a towel wrapped around her head. "I'm ready!" she cheered happily. 

"Fine. Your turn!" Sora replied, standing up and giving her seat to the other girl. 

Jun plopped into the chair Sora had vacated, grinning ear to ear. "I know my hair's pretty short, too," she complained. "It's the Motomiya hair. Daisuke doesn't have a problem, but he never has to do anything with it anyway." 

"Don't worry," Mimi assured her. "We'll find _something _to do with it." She removed the towel and began to attack the hair with her comb and brush. 

Sora calmly took her own comb and brushed her hair, watching as Mimi struggled with Jun's hair. 

Momoe entered the room, her own hair already having been styled by Mimi. It now hung in two short braids on either side of her head. Terriermon trailed behind her.

"Miyako's not here yet?" she wondered.   
Sora shook her head. "No. She probably stayed to talk with Daisuke. Or she's still in the tub. She always likes long, luxurious baths." 

"Yeah," Terriermon recalled. "Long baths." 

"There's nothing wrong with a long bath," Mimi stated. "I like to spend time soaking, too." 

"So do I," Jun agreed, nodding and messing up Mimi's attempted hair-doing. "You get cleaner that way." 

The door opened then, and Piyomon and Hawkmon entered, both wisely staying clear out of Mimi's range. Thankfully, she was preoccupied with Jun and therefore didn't notice the two bird-like digimon. 

"Yeah, but when other people need a bath," Terriermon shook her head slightly. 

"Bath?" Piyomon repeated. "Who needs a bath?" 

"No one," Sora replied. "Miyako's _in _the bath." 

The door opened. "Not anymore!" Miyako cheered triumphantly. Her hair was still wet, and she swung the towel that was supposed to be covering it in her hands, twirling it as she half-danced into the room. 

"About time," Hawkmon noted. 

"What are _you_ so happy about?" Palmon questioned from where she sat beside Mimi.

"I'll give you three guesses," Sora observed dryly, smiling slightly. Miyako only grinned wider. 

"Really nice soap?" Jun questioned. Miyako shook her head. 

Mimi paused in her combing and scratched her head. "I haven't a clue. Are you just happy to be clean?" Miyako shook her head again. 

"Well, I don't have a clue," Momoe confessed. "You seem to know, Sora. Mind filling the rest of us in?" 

Miyako took the comb from Sora's hand as she twirled past her, dancing through the room and humming slightly. 

"I'll give you another clue," Sora replied as she watched her friend spin through the room. "It has to do with a boy." 

"Oh!" Mimi gasped. 

"Ah," Jun nodded knowingly. 

"A boy?" Momoe questioned. 

Sora nodded. All four girls turned to Miyako for confirmation. She blushed and nodded, turning now to the window and starting on her hair, still humming.

"It's not my brother, is it?" Jun questioned. 

"I'd hope not," Mimi observed. Jun spun in her chair. 

"What does that mean?" 

"It means I know someone else who has their eye on your brother." 

"Who?" 

"Oh come now, you haven't seen it?" Piyomon spoke up now. She turned to her partner and sighed. "I thought everyone could!" 

Sora shrugged. "Maybe not." 

"What?" Jun demanded. "Who's got their eye on my brother?" 

Momoe was running through the list of available young men in the area. "Not Takeru?" she questioned. 

Miyako shook her head. 

"Oh, just a certain girl," Mimi replied in a sing-song voice. 

"Not you?" 

Mimi laughed. Miyako laughed. Sora laughed so hard she nearly choked. 

"No – not me," Mimi replied after she had regained her breath and Sora had drunk a glass of water. 

"No one in this room," Sora supplied. 

Jun frowned. "Who else is there?" she wondered. "I mean, besides Sora's mother and Miyako's mother, we're the only females here. Unless -." 

"Unless?" 

"Unless it's someone that's _not_ here?" 

"No, she's here," Sora replied. 

"Not – Princess Hikari?" Jun finally asked, doubtful. When Sora, Mimi, and even Miyako nodded, Jun shook her head. "I should have known. He's been spending a lot of time with her." 

"They are becoming quite close," Hawkmon observed thoughtfully. 

Terriermon laughed. "So maybe Daisuke will be a King one day." 

Jun shook her head. "Let's hope not!" she stated, and the rest of the room was eager to agree. 

"But who has caught the interest of my sister?" Momoe questioned, turning her eyes back to Miyako, who had paid little attention to the conversation. 

"Not Daisuke, not Takeru. Not Taichi, right?" Mimi wondered. 

Miyako shook her head. "No," she said, speaking for the first time. "He's reserved for Sora." 

Sora blushed a furious bright red and peered at the ground. Mimi laughed aloud. 

"Aiming high, I see!" she cheered. "Sora the Queen!" 

"I don't want to be a Queen!" Sora protested. She glared at Miyako. "You _will die_." 

Miyako tossed the comb back to her friend. "Not right now," she replied. "I've got to go." 

"Go where?" Mimi demanded. "I haven't even done your hair." 

"The coronation's not for another few days," Miyako reminded her. "You've got time. I wanted to talk to Hikari, if you don't mind." 

Mimi looked unhappy about that, but didn't have a chance to protest, as Miyako was already gone. 

***

Tailmon frowned. "I really don't see why I would need to look any different," she explained. "I think I look fine the way I do now. Digimon don't wear clothes." 

"I'm not saying you have to wear clothes," Hikari replied, combing her hair as she peered into the mirror. "I'm just saying you might want to wear a necklace or something. I've got a few you can use." 

Before Tailmon could reply, there was a knock on the door. The feline digimon leapt off the bed and strolled across the room. "I'll think about," she answered, somewhat grumpily. 

"Hello, Tailmon," Miyako greeted. "I was wondering if Hikari's free?" 

"Come on in, Miyako," Hikari waved her into the room. "I was trying to convince Tailmon to do something different for the party." 

"Different?" 

"She wants me to _wear_ something," Tailmon clarified, looking decidedly unhappy with the plan. 

Miyako frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe you could wear earrings?" she suggested. "Your ears are your best feature." 

Tailmon frowned, but considered the idea. "Maybe." 

"That's a good idea," Hikari encouraged. 

"Whatever." Tailmon waved the idea aside and left the room. "I'm going for a walk." 

"Think about it, at least!" Hikari called as the door shut behind her partner. 

"I don't think she will," Miyako noted. 

"She might think about it," Hikari replied. "If I keep on her about it for awhile, she'll agree." She turned to face her guest. "What can I do for you?" 

"Nothing, really," Miyako confessed. "I just didn't feel like staying with Mimi and Sora. They were in a very talkative  mood." 

"Oh? Talking about what?" Hikari was curious. 

"Oh, the usual things. Who's in love with who, how to wear their hair." She shrugged slightly. 

"Couldn't take the questions, huh?" 

Miyako shook her head. "No. And I just had the most embarrassing experience of my life." She quickly went over the details of what had happened in the washroom after her bath. 

"So he _did_ come, then?" Hikari nodded. "Good. I was hoping that his family issues wouldn't keep him away. Daisuke seems to really need him." 

"They have a close friendship," Miyako agreed. "Very close. Sometimes it makes me wonder if either of them would let anyone else in." She sighed. "We've both made progress, I know, but we're still just on the outside." 

"We are," Hikari stated gravely. "But no relationship was built in a day." She smiled. "I wouldn't give up yet, Miyako. Someday he'll realize that you're the right girl for him and you'll live happily ever after." 

Miyako grinned cheerfully. "I hope so." 

***

Daisuke waited patiently for his friend to finish bathing. Patiently for Daisuke meaning that he paced back and forth through the room for a good portion of the time he was waiting. Eventually, V-mon came in and watched his partner pace for a few moments. 

"What are you doing?" 

Daisuke nearly hit the ceiling. "What are _you_ doing?" he asked when he had returned to the ground once more. "You scared me." 

The blue digimon laughed a while at his partner's discomfort before he was able to answer. "I just came in. You were so absorbed with – whatever you were doing – that you didn't notice." He smiled innocently. 

Wisely, the boy was not so gullible. He frowned. "Liar," he declared, but decided to drop the subject. "I was waiting for Ken to get out of the bath so I could talk to him." 

V-mon nodded in understanding. He was about to remark on this subject, but didn't have the chance, because just then the reason for the conversation walked out of the bathroom. 

Ken had already put on his pajamas and was running a comb through his hair as he walked. He spotted Daisuke and V-mon, waiting for him, and paused momentarily in his combing. "All right. I know there must be _something_ important, or you wouldn't have waited out here this whole time." He ran the comb again through his still-wet hair and walked past them, carrying a small towel in his hands. 

"Well, yeah," Daisuke admitted. "I wanted to tell you about the digimental." 

"Digimental?" Ken repeated. "Oh. Right. You did say something about that before." 

Daisuke nodded. He reached into his pocket, since he always kept his digivice – D3 it was now called – with him, and presented it and the strange white carrying device he'd received to his friend. "I got them on the way here," he explained as Ken made himself comfortable in one of the chairs. 

The other boy blinked curiously as he examined the objects. "It changed?" he observed. "And this?" he looked at the flat white box. As he was fiddling with it, the top of it suddenly flipped open, and a strange image of an egg-shaped object appeared inside. 

"The digimental container. Koushiro's not sure what they're called. He's probably searching through books as we speak, to see if it has a name," Daisuke explained.

"I'm not sure I understand what a digimental _is_," Ken frowned. 

"Oh, that's easy," Daisuke grinned as he went through the explanation…that it was yet another way to aid evolution, and that he had demonstrated it that very afternoon. 

"There's probably not room in here to do it again," V-mon observed with a slight frown. He liked the huge feeling of power that came with armor evolution. 

"That's all right," his partner assured him. "We can show him tomorrow." 

***

Sora rolled over in bed, some sort of an uneasy feeling preventing her from drifting off to sleep. She yawned and shut her eyes, pulling the blankets over her head, only to remove them again a moment later, still awake. 

_'Why am I having this problem sleeping?'_ she wondered, sitting up and peering out at the night sky. _'I never have problems sleeping. Especially not while I'm here. I usually feel so relaxed.'_ She glanced over at Piyomon, who was snoring contentedly on the bed beside her. 

_'I don't know who I'm trying to deceive. I'm not going to be able to sleep,'_ she realized with a sigh as she got out of bed and reached for her robe. Wrapping the warm cloth around her, she opened the window slowly and slipped out on to the veranda outside room, shutting the door behind her quietly so as not to disturb her partner. 

Absently, Sora felt for the tag she wore around her neck, now tucked under her nightgown. _'Yamato had such a hard time with accepting his crest. He felt he wasn't worthy. I wonder if we'll all feel that way. I wonder what my crest is.' _ 

There was silence for a long moment as she turned away from the pendant and out to the palace grounds. It offered her some relief to know that there was no hidden dark figure out there waiting for Miyako – or any of them, probably – to be defenseless and then…

Sora decided not to finish that train of thought. It was rather depressing. She didn't want to think about what she would do if something had happened to Miyako. She was her closest friend – like a sister, even. Or to Mimi, who was nearly as close. Or Taichi. Sora mentally shuddered at that thought. She didn't want to think about loosing _any _of them. Or any of the other Chosen. 

"I guess we've all grown really close," she spoke aloud, even though only the stars were listening. 

Suddenly, she was aware of something warm against her hand. Looking down, she saw that she still held the tag, and that it was glowing! 

Hurriedly, Sora rushed back into the room and quickly awakened Piyomon, shaking the small pink bird until she peered sleepily through the darkness at her over-excited partner. "Piyomon – Piyomon! It's glowing!" Sora shouted. 

Quickly, Sora threw on her slippers and wrapped her robe even tighter around her. "I think it's outside." 

"Why?" Piyomon questioned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with one wing and yawning at the same time. 

"I was standing on the balcony when it started to glow." She flung open the door into the parlor of the suite and paused. "Come on, Piyomon, I haven't got all day." 

"It's night time," her partner responded. "Why were you awake, anyway?" 

"I couldn't sleep. Are you coming or not?" 

"I'm coming. You're grumpy when you haven't slept." 

"We all are," Hawkmon's voice interrupted. He stood in the doorway to Miyako's room. 

"Sora? What's going on?" Miyako questioned sleepily. 

"It's okay, you can go back to sleep," Sora assured her. "My tag started glowing and I want to go out to look for the crest." 

Miyako was immediately awake. "Go back to sleep?" she repeated. "Are you crazy? I'm coming with you!" 

Hawkmon sighed, but did not comment as he followed his partner out of the room. 

A short time later the two girls were outside. "It must be this way," Sora decided, following the glowing light through the wet grass in the pre-morning light. 

"Does anyone know what time it is?" Piyomon mumbled, yawning. 

"Probably about three in the morning," Hawkmon replied in a similar voice.

"Actually, more like four," Miyako replied, though her exhaustion didn't show in her voice. They walked for some time, changing directions several times. Finally, Sora paused in front of a very tall tree. 

Piyomon peered back in the direction of the castle. "Hey! This is in direct line of sight from your window, Sora." She pointed back to the building, where they could see the window, identifiable because the window was still left open. 

"I guess _that_ must be why my tag reacted," Sora noted. She peered at the tree. "I think it must be up there." 

"You're not going to climb?" Hawkmon questioned. 

"I don't have much of a choice," she replied. She grabbed the lowest branch. "Give me a boost?" 

Miyako stepped behind her and helped her to climb up. As soon as she had ascended, she began to hoist herself to the next branch, and then the next, until she was quite some distance above them. 

"Is it there?" Miyako called up. 

"I don't – see anything," Sora answered. Her voice sounded softer because of the distance. "I wonder if something's wrong?" 

"It doesn't seem right." Piyomon frowned and flew up to perch beside her partner. "Yamato said that when he found his crest, the entire side of the well was glowing. This tree isn't." 

Sora sat on the branch beside her. "Something doesn't feel right," she agreed. Suddenly, something moving caught the side of her eye. "What is that?" 

Miyako peered up at the sky. "What?" she asked. 

"That!" Hawkmon spotted it. A dark, long, sinister looking shape that flew through the darkness, silhouetted against the brightness of the moonlight. 

"Airdramon?" Piyomon wondered. 

"Looks like it," Miyako observed. The dark shape was barely discernable in the night, but she was able to make it out. "Um – Sora? It's coming this way. And –." 

"And there looks like there's a rider," Hawkmon finished. "I thought you said they weren't foolhardy enough to attack the palace?" 

"Maybe we were wrong. There's only one," Piyomon observed. She flew away from the tree to get a better look. 

"No," Sora noted, her voice shaking slightly. "There's more than one." 

"I see – three," Miyako stated. "Sora? I'd get out of that tree if I were you." 

"Right." Sora began to slowly make her way down from the higher branches. Miyako began to panic slightly. 

"Sora! Sora! It's coming this way!" her voice was definitely panicky now. 

"Just – just stay calm," Hawkmon decided, sounding somewhat disconcerted himself.

What happened in the next few minutes, Miyako was never quite certain of. She _did_ know that it was dark, and that accounted for why they didn't know the Airdramon were as close as they were. And why she wasn't quite aware of what was happening while it happened. 

Miyako did the first thing that comes to any rational person's mind when a large flying object is hurtling at them. She flattened herself upon the ground, hoping to make herself as flat as possible. Even so, she could feel the rush of air as the giant flying digimon flew over at a speed she could not recall having ever experienced. 

And she screamed, of course, but that can't be considered rational even at a time like this. 

Hawkmon threw himself upon the ground as well, and then, when the attacker had finished, he busied himself with the first order of business, which was, of course, making sure Miyako was all right. 

Miyako was, and then she turned to the tree. Sora, unfortunately, had not been so lucky. The rider of the Airdramon had somehow managed to pull her from the tree, and now she was gone, Piyomon was gone, and the Airdramon was gone. 

"What the - ?" she wondered as a piece of paper fluttered down to rest at her feet. She read the letter and then let loose a stream of words that probably wouldn't be considered very ladylike. They were, however, quite appropriate at a time like this. 

***

Sorry it took so long to get all this up…vacation and all that left me busier than I'd thought. And now I have to start classes in only two days! Oh well.

Anyway, about this chapter. Ken finally shows up, five chapters in. At least this one isn't named after him… Sorry for the cheesy romantic scenes and the mindless fluff. I got that picture in my head of Miyako bathing and Ken walking in and so I found a way to introduce him. I also had great fun with the "discussion" afterwards. She and Daisuke argue easily. Later on this story will get a bit more serious (as I'm sure you predicted from reading The Dark Bandit), so I'm including mindless humor in the beginning to lighten it up. ^_^

For those of you concerned about the future of this plotline, there will be at least one, possibly two more stories in this series. I'm already full of ideas about the next one, but I want to finish this one before I start that one. 

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, criticism, and support. Especially for the rotten tomatoes, they're great to use when I get back to school. ^_^ The next one won't take so long to get up. Probably a week or so, so see ya then! 


	6. Part Six: Discussing and Searching

The Reign of Courage

Part Six: Discussing and Searching

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon is not mine, and I'm receiving no money for the creation of this story. The plot, however, is mine, and I'd appreciate it if you'd be so kind as to not steal from me or sue me. 

***

Taichi was sleeping quite contentedly for the first time in quite a while. For once, neither the demands of his kingdom, Mimi's endless flower debates, nor Agumon's relentless snoring were keeping him awake. Hikari had managed to assure Mimi in many of her crucial decisions _and_ saved him from having to wear flowers at the same time. Feeling quite relieved, the release of that particular burden was enough to let him forget about the rest of his worries and even sleep through his partner's snores. 

Alas, all good things must come to an end. And tonight, with a full two hours or so before dawn, he was awakened by a loud banging sound on his door. Jolted awake, the young soon-to-be-King took a few seconds to realize where it was coming from. Rubbing his eyes, he squinted through the darkness at his still sleeping partner, and then glanced at the clock beside his bed. 

_'Four thirty?'_ he questioned mentally. _'What's so important?'_

Naturally, Taichi was used to being awakened at ungodly hours. It had happened several times throughout his life, he expected it to happen at least several times more. The lack of sleep was simply something that could be considered expected when one was in a position of leadership and power. 

So he was not as angry or upset as one might imagine him to be. He was certainly not _happy_ about it, but that was something he would learn to deal with. 

He trudged reluctantly across the floor, slowly despite the panicked sound of the knocks, and opened the door. He was, to say the least, quite surprised, when Miyako fell into the room, flung herself at his feet, and began to sob. 

"Miyako?" he questioned. "What's wrong?" Suddenly, his tiredness seemed to matter a bit less. Obviously, this girl was having a crisis. 

"Oh, Taichi, sir, I'm so sorry, I should have done something about it, but I couldn't. I mean, they were Airdramon, and all I had was Hawkmon and now it's all my fault." She paused for breath a moment, and wiped the tears from her face. 

Even more concerned now that Airdramon had been mentioned, Taichi urged her to stand up and enter the room, closing the door behind them. After admitting her and having her sit on his bed, he handed her a handkerchief and then left the room to fetch a glass of water. When he had, he handed it to her. 

"Have a drink," he advised. "And then try to tell me again." 

Miyako nodded, sniffling pitifully and gulping the water. "Thank you," she replied, the desperate nature of the situation not causing her to forget her manners. 

He nodded politely, waving it aside. "Now – what about Airdramon?" 

Miyako took a gulp, knowing this was definitely serious. "They took Sora," she replied. 

Taichi's eyes grew wide. "What?" he gasped, seriously shocked. Of all the things he'd expected to be awakened for, this was not one of them. "How? When? Where?" 

"Just now," she replied, and went on to tell the story as best she remembered it. "I sent Hawkmon to wake the others. I thought you'd want them." 

He nodded, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Her mother will have to be awakened, too," he supplied. "I didn't think they'd risk something like this." 

"They left this," Miyako recalled, holding out the piece of paper that had fallen into her hands just afterward. 

Taichi read the letter quickly and then thought the exact words Miyako had uttered. Since she was there, however, he was nice enough to not say them aloud. Instead, he clenched his fists and stood up. "I'm going to wake my sister," he told her. "Get the others and meet in the main room. I'll be there as soon as I can." 

***

Miyako walked back to her room, managing to wipe the tears from her eyes as much as was possible before meeting the others. She knocked on Daisuke's door first, as it was the first in the hall. When he emerged, still sleepy-eyed, but concerned, she knew Hawkmon had probably alerted him first.

The others were present a moment later, Mimi coming sleepy eyed and somewhat frantically out of her room, Momoe following with a concerned expression. Jun emerged from the shared suite in a similar state, tears welling in her eyes. Takeru looked concerned even as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and Yamato, still in a somewhat disgruntled mood about the day before, also appeared concerned. Ken looked the most exhausted of them all, but even he gave Miyako a comforting glance as she explained to them all that they were going to meet in the throne room. 

No one particularly wanted to break the news to Sora's mother, but in the end Miyako decided that she might as well do it, since she had been present. If there was anyone to blame, she decided, it would be her. 

"Don't be ridiculous," Daisuke spoke up. "It's not your fault at all." Several others in the group agreed, but Miyako refused to be swayed. 

"I feel responsible," she insisted. "I'm going to tell her." It was obvious no one else's opinion was going to sway her as she turned to leave. A moment later, she heard footsteps behind her. 

"I said I can do it, Daisuke," she snapped, assured of who was behind her. 

"I didn't say you couldn't," the voice replied, but it was not Daisuke. 

"Then why are you following me?" she wondered, turning to see Ken, with a somewhat determined look on his face. 

"I wanted to help," he replied softly, his face appearing somewhat wounded. "You know. Moral support." 

She relented, finally, and nodded. "Thanks." Her voice was just as soft. "I appreciate it." 

***

Taichi pushed open the door, still dressed in his nightshirt and trailed by a half asleep Agumon. Hikari and Tailmon both appeared more awake. One thing was clear in his mind. There would be no falling asleep on the job. 

He was astonished at the amount of people in the room. Not only Daisuke, Yamato, Takeru, Mimi, Jyou, Iori, and Koushiro, but also Momoe and Jun had filed into the throne room. Everyone was awash in conversation, but it was silenced the moment he entered, and remained silent while he walked past them to the front of the room. 

"Where's Miyako?" he questioned once he had reached there. 

"With Sora's mother," Daisuke explained. "Ken went with her." 

Taichi nodded. He didn't sit. Couldn't sit. Instead, he rubbed his tired eyes and stood awkwardly in front of the raised platform. 

_'Somehow I just don't feel I _should_ be up there,'_ he thought to himself. _'That was always Father's place. Not mine.'_

Before he could continue, however, the door opened, and Lady Takenouchi entered, a severe look on her face. Miyako and Ken followed closely behind. 

"I want to know what you intend to do about this, Tai," the woman spoke in a stern voice that matched her expression. "If she's hurt…"

"We'll get her back, I promise," the young Prince replied. "You have my assurances." 

"That's why we're here," Yamato added. 

Sora's mother appeared consoled, at least for the moment.  

"Exactly." Taichi picked up where Yamato had finished off. He held the piece of paper Miyako had given him and showed it to the group. "This must be read to all of you." 

There was a moment of silence so that he could be sure all eyes were on him. And they were. Every person and their digimon had their eyes locked on him. Twenty-five pairs of eyes. All hanging on his every word. He cleared his throat and began:

"_'We are not a force to be laughed at. Our leader is powerful. Do not dare to believe that our first hostage will be our last. Be prepared for war, Kingdom of Yagami, for Devimon is your newest enemy.'"_

There was another moment of silence as the assembled took in the sound. Then the room erupted in conversation again. Yamato and Daisuke both began to speculate on the meanings of the letter. Miyako began to sniffle. Koushiro searched through a book he had brought with him for listings of the name. Several others began to contemplate the idea of a war against a digimon.

"I have it!" the young wizard shouted. All eyes turned to him, and the noise ceased. 

"What is it?" Yamato questioned. 

_"'Devimon,'"_ Koushiro read. "_'One of the first enemies said to be fought by the Chosen. A Digimon of immense power. Rumored to be only at the adult level, yet with immense power. It was the evolution of the smallest which finally led to his defeat.' _It's remarkable how this all fits in, isn't it?" 

"I don't understand," Iori spoke up. "Does this mean we're only going to have to do exactly what the first Chosen did?" 

"If that's true, then what's the point of doing it?" Yamato questioned in agreement. 

"No," Koushiro shook his head. "There's a point to it. I don't know if we'll have to do exactly what the first Chosen did. But we still have to do it." 

"Who cares if someone did it before?" Miyako reminded them. "If we need to get Sora back, then we'll do it a hundred more times!"

There was a murmur of assent throughout those assembled. "Now's not the time to debate the reasons," Tailmon spoke up. "Now is the time to simply act."

Taichi nodded. "Is that all the information on Devimon you have, Koushiro?" 

"That's all that's in this book," he replied. "I have a ton of other books that may possibly have more." 

"Good. You keep looking for more then. I want to know what we're up against." Taichi sighed. "I hate to say it, but we can't go after Sora if we don't know where she is." 

There was a moment of silence and then increased conversation.

"Can we use the digivices?" Mimi spoke up, holding her own in the air. "If we could possibly manage to locate her on our digivices, then we'd be able to find her." 

"A possibility," Koushiro agreed.  
"We don't even know where to start looking, though," Jyou pointed out. "Don't we need a starting point?" 

"I say we start near the castle and move outward," Miyako suggested. "Both times we were confronted by the Airdramon we were on the way here – from the south, right?" She glanced at Daisuke for conformation.

"Exactly!" he agreed. "So there could be a base near there."

"Could be," Ken spoke up. "Or they could just be throwing us off the track." 

"The base could be miles away," Yamato agreed. "It might be a good idea to see if anyone else around here has heard of this Devimon guy." 

"Good. We'll do both," Taichi decided. "Split up and cover the area." He looked over the assembled people. 

"I'll go with Daisuke," Hikari spoke up. "I'll feel safest with him. You can stay here, brother." She smiled slightly in his direction. 

Taichi frowned somewhat at the idea of his sister going out into the dangerous world again, but agreed. "Who else will search?" he questioned. Immediately all but Koushiro, Momoe, and Lady Takenouchi raised their hands. 

"I'd prefer to stay here," the Lady explained. She turned to Koushiro. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance?" 

"I'll help, too," Momoe offered. "I'm supposed to be resting anyway." 

Koushiro nodded. "The help is greatly appreciated."

"Be warned, his lab is a mess," Tentomon advised. "Don't wear nice clothes."

"Iori can come with me," Jyou offered. "It's best if everyone who has a digimon that can evolve goes with someone who can't. In case of danger." Iori nodded in agreement. 

"Jun can come with me," Mimi decided, turning to the other girl. "I wanted to see if Gennai had any information." Jun agreed readily.

"Who's left?" Yamato wondered, as the only one remaining with a digimon that could evolve. Miyako, Ken, and Takeru remained. "I guess you three will have to come with me." 

Taichi nodded. "Everyone head back and see if you can get some rest. You can start searching right after breakfast. I don't want anyone going out until they've eaten. Understand?" 

The assembled murmured assent before they dispersed. Daisuke remained behind. "I'm assuming you have a reason for requesting me?" he asked Hikari. 

"I do," Hikari nodded. "I think it would be best if you and I searched some of the surrounding villages. You know best about how they live." 

He nodded. "I don't know _these_ villages," he reminded her.

"No," Tailmon interjected. "But you can talk without sounding like a pompous dork." 

He blinked. "Thanks. I think."

Taichi managed a smile. "That was a compliment, Daisuke," he informed him, yawning. "Try to get some sleep." 

***

"I didn't know it was going to be so _warm_ out here," Takeru commented as he wiped his brow for about the millionth time in the last few minutes. 

"We've only been outside for a half hour," Yamato reminded him, glancing toward the sky. "And it's no warmer than it was yesterday, when you were swinging a sword around at Daisuke." 

"I know," he replied. "But it _feels_ warmer." 

There was silence for a few moments. The group walked along the road. That morning, after a good forty-five minutes of arguing and decision making, they had decided on what each of the groups should bring. First and foremost was a map, followed by a canteen of water for each person, a picnic lunch, a small amount of money in case of an emergency, a blanket, a compass, a lantern in case it became dark, and all carried in a small leather knapsack. It wasn't especially heavy, but it wasn't light either. 

Miyako looked down at her digivice for the millionth time. "I wonder if we'll even find anything," she mumbled glumly.

Yamato and Ken frowned slightly at her, but Takeru spoke up. "We will!" he assured her. "I know we will! You can't give up hope!"

Patamon, flying above, perched on his partner's hat and agreed. "We'll find her," he agreed. "And everything will turn out all right." 

Miyako nodded, but didn't look in the least bit happy.

***

Hikari carefully adjusted her scarf. "I just don't understand why Tai has to have all this secrecy," she complained. "I mean, what would be the harm in letting the others know we were going to ask around this village?" 

Daisuke shrugged, making sure his hat was positioned over his head. It was too hot for a hat, so he looked slightly more conspicuous than usual, but he wore a straw hat this time instead of the usual shabby cloth one. "Do I look like me?" 

She laughed. "Yes," she replied. "But you can't see your hair." 

He frowned. "I guess that would be a good thing." 

***

Mimi hurried through the forest as quick as she possibly could without running. Palmon, Jun, and Alraumon followed, and the girl couldn't help but think of the marked similarity between this trip and the last she had taken with Koushiro, only four days before. Had it really been that long? 

_'I hope we find her,'_ Mimi thought. _'I hope Gennai can help. I just _don't_ know what I'll do if we can't find Sora. She's one of my best friends. I don't know _what_ I'll do without her." _

Unbidden and almost unnoticed, a tear drifted down her cheek and landed on the small pendant she wore around her neck. Mimi paused in her hurrying, seemingly to allow the others to catch up with her. 

_'We just **have** to find her!'_ she thought. And then, because the words didn't sound real enough, she spoke them aloud. "We've got to find her!" 

"We will, Mimi," Palmon's voice said from behind her, but by this point Mimi wasn't paying attention, because the tag around her neck was glowing. 

Jun and Alraumon also had caught up by this point, and stopped in their tracks as well. "It's near?" Jun questioned. 

"Must be, it's glowing!" Mimi realized. "It must be around here somewhere!" 

Jun, Alraumon, and Palmon followed Mimi as she quickly hurried through the woods. Suddenly, without warning, the trees faded, and they were in a clearing that Mimi didn't recall having spotted the last time she was there. It was a round area, and, somewhat out of place in the center of it all, was a cactus. 

"What the - ?" Jun questioned.

"It looks like Togemon," Mimi observed. She shuddered. "You don't think I'll have to climb it, do you?" 

"I don't know…" Palmon admitted.

"Sure hope not," Alraumon agreed. "It doesn't look like it would be fun."

Mimi gulped back the apprehension she felt and stepped forward. Suddenly, the cactus began to glow, and then, somewhat inexplicably, it was replaced by a small, flat, pink-colored square object which hovered in midair for a moment before connecting itself with the pendant around her neck.   

"I wonder what it means?" 

***

"Certainly," the small man replied as he passed out the teacups to the girls. "That is the crest of junshin."

"Junshin means – purity?" Jun translated. 

"Exactly. Purity, sincerity. It's a trait that fits you quite well," Gennai explained while he poured the tea.

"I'm not sure I understand," Mimi admitted. 

"Me either," Palmon agreed. "What do you mean by purity?" 

"Ah. But that's something you have to figure out for yourself," the old man replied with a grin. "However, I think you're here for something other than the meaning of your crest. That wizard boy could have answered that question for you." 

"You mean Koushiro?" Palmon questioned.

"Exactly. Do you know any others?" 

"No," Mimi admitted. "But we do need your help, Gennai. One of my friends was kidnapped by a group of Airdramon. They left a note identifying their leader as someone named Devimon." 

Gennai nodded. "A powerful digimon indeed." 

"Can you give us anything more than that?" Jun wondered. 

The old man sipped his tea thoughtfully for a few moments. "Perhaps," he replied cryptically. "But not much. I _can_ tell you that Devimon is not your true enemy." 

"He's not?" Palmon questioned.

"But then - ?" Mimi asked. 

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't take his threats seriously. He is a force to be reckoned with, believe you me. But he is not the greatest threat. Devimon will be an easy enemy to fight compared to what you will come against in the future." 

"Then there will be others?" Jun asked. "Other enemies to fight?" 

"There are _always_ others to fight," Gennai replied sagely. 

Mimi sighed. "So we're going to be fighting for all of eternity?" 

The old man chuckled. "No, not quite that long," he replied cheerfully. 

Palmon frowned in thought. "The book Koushiro had said that the evolution of the smallest would defeat Devimon. Who's the smallest?" 

Gennai shrugged. "I don't know everything, do I?" he asked. 

Mimi sighed and sipped her tea.

"Does he mean the smallest _person_ or the smallest digimon?" Jun wondered. 

"He didn't say," her partner replied. 

"Well, the smallest person would probably be…" she trailed off, thinking. "I'm not sure, even. I think Koushiro must be the shortest…"

"I think so, too," Mimi agreed. "But Tentomon isn't that small…"

Palmon sighed. "It'll probably make sense _eventually_," she declared.

***

Daisuke frowned as he and Hikari wandered away from the village. "None of these people have ever heard of Devimon," he sighed. "I'm beginning to wonder if this is pointless." 

Hikari sighed. "I know how you feel," she admitted. 

"Daisuke!" V-mon jumped down from a tree and landed on his partner's shoulders. "I thought you'd _never_ get back! I'm _starving!_"

Tailmon agreed, climbing down the same tree. "Same here. What took so long?" 

"There's a lot of people in that village," Hikari defended. "And not _one_ of them were any help." 

V-mon frowned. "We'd cover more ground if you'd let us ask people, too," he spoke up. 

"I know, but if we did that we'd give ourselves away and we can't let _that_ happen," Daisuke reminded him. He looked down at his stomach. "I'm hungry too. Wanna stop for lunch?" 

"Food sounds great," Hikari agreed. A few minutes later they had spread their meal on the ground and begun to eat. 

"So where do we go after this?" V-mon questioned with his mouth full. Daisuke peered at the map he'd brought along while he munched his sandwich. 

"Well, we tried most of the villages in this area," he observed after swallowing his latest mouthful. "It looks like there's only one possibility left. It's to the north, and quite a walk from here, but we can fit it in before dark if we hurry." 

Hikari peered at the map. "It is pretty far," she observed. "But we can make it." 

"More walking?" V-mon complained, swallowing the last of his third sandwich. 

"We don't get to take a nap first?" Tailmon added. 

***

Takeru peered over the landscape from the top of the hill, squinting in an effort to try to see as much as he could and shielding his eyes from the sun. The rest of the group was still eating. 

"I don't see anything, do you, Patamon?" he asked. "At least nowhere that could hide Sora."

Patamon shook his head. "No, not a thing," he admitted. "Trees, grass, a village in the distance. That's about all." 

"I hope the others have more luck than we do," Takeru frowned as he peered at his digivice. "I'm not reading _anything_." 

The orange digimon perched on his head squinted out at the hills in the distance, his bright blue eyes narrowing. "Hey! What was that?" he wondered. 

"What?" Takeru looked up from the device. 

"I thought I saw something. It was real brief and fast, but I saw _something_." 

"What did you see?" 

He shook his head. "I'm not sure. It sort of…glinted at me. As if it were a reflection." 

"Think we should check it out?" 

"Yeah, why not?" Patamon shrugged. 

***

"Anyone else see a pattern?" Yamato quipped as they walked. "We walk, and then we walk. After we finish walking, we'll walk some more!"

No one bothered to laugh at his joke. 

"I'm not seeing anything, Takeru," Miyako noted. "Are you sure it was this way?" 

"I didn't see it," the blond boy reminded her. "Patamon did. But he said it was this way, right?" 

"Yes. This way," Patamon nodded. 

"Are you sure it wasn't just a trick of the light or something?" Hawkmon questioned. "We've been walking for quite some distance." 

"I don't know _what_ it was," Patamon admitted. "But there was something. I know it was." 

"We'll probably find it eventually," Gabumon tried to be reassuring. 

"I hope," Yamato added.

***

"The village we're looking for should be right around this bend in the road," Daisuke stated from behind the map. "I _really_ hope there's something useful here." 

"We've been walking a lot," V-mon agreed. "I'm ready for a nap." 

"You can nap while we go in and look around," Hikari reminded him. "Here's where we split up." 

Reluctantly, both Tailmon and V-mon climbed the nearest tree and waved to their partners. Daisuke replaced the map in his knapsack and adjusted the straw hat on his head and he and Hikari walked along the path. 

Immediately, they could see there was something different about this particular village. The houses looked like the same nondescript huts they had encountered in the rest of the villages, but there were very few people, and _no_ digimon. 

Hikari shuddered. "It's too quiet here," she whispered as though she were afraid to break the silence.

Daisuke mentally agreed, but said nothing. Instead he walked on past the huts, Hikari following. Some of the huts were small stores with food or pottery in baskets offered for sale, but there were few items. The food that _did_ remain was old and the pottery was cracked. The entire place appeared to be covered in a loose layer of dust. 

Hikari paused in front of a stand that sold pottery and examined the wares. One of the pots looked as though it had once been very beautiful, but was now covered with an inch-thick layer of dust. It appeared very old. 

"You don't want that, you don't want anything here," a quiet voice spoke up. Hikari looked up to see the old man that ran the store peering over her. 

"Why? What's happened here?" she questioned in a voice that was equally quiet. 

The old man shook his head. "If you're smart, you won't stay here," he replied instead. 

"Why not?" 

"There's something _wrong_ here," the vendor explained. "Very wrong." 

*

Daisuke, meanwhile, was examining some fruit that was available at another store. A haggard woman that in another life might have been quite cheerful sat in front of the hut, rocking on a worn out chair. 

"Don't bother looking, there's nothing worth buying," she spoke up, her voice cutting harshly through the silence. 

"Why not?" The woman offered a shrug as her only response. "Why do you try if you know it's not worth it?" 

*

"What's wrong?" Hikari pressed, trying to get _some_ information out of the old man. "Is there something…evil here?" 

The old man's pale blue eyes grew wide. "How did you - ?" he stammered. 

*

"I don't have anything else to do, really," the woman replied. "What's it matter to you?" She squinted through the sunlight at the boy, a suspicious look on her face. 

Daisuke frowned. "I've heard stories," he replied, half-lying. "That there's something evil here." He gestured to the dried-out landscape. 

"That so?" 

*

"I've heard things," Hikari explained. It wasn't _exactly_ a lie, she told herself. She _had_ heard things. 

"Truth be told, there's a digimon around here," the man explained in a fearful voice. "A powerful one. I've not seen my own partner since." 

*

"What sort of powerful digimon?" Daisuke wondered. 

The woman snorted. "The evil kind, of course," she replied. "After he arrived, the digimon in the area took off. The wild ones, the tamed ones. Only the partners stuck around. Then they started moving out, too. If the human partners could, they followed. There's only a few of us left, that don't have no place to go." 

*

"Your digimon _left_ you?" Hikari gasped. 

His thin face nodded in response. "Not of his own volition, of course," he explained. "But the fear – the – I don't know – _evil _– in the air, it just got to him. I can't blame him. If I'd been stronger I would have gone with him." 

"What brought this evil?" she asked.

*

Daisuke frowned. "So there's some sort of evil around here that this digimon brought with him? Do you know who this digimon is? What it's called?" 

There was a long silence. The woman lowered her voice to a conspiratorial level. "I can't be sure, but I've heard some digimon refer to him as…" she lowered her voice even softer. "_Devimon…_"

*

"That digimon brought the evil," the man replied. "Don't ask me to tell you what he is, because I don't know. But the moment he came, there was an evil surrounding the place. All the digimon left." He pointed to a mountain that towered over the landscape. Hikari recalled having seen it as a faint spot on the horizon from her window. 

"What's that?" 

"Infinity Mountain," the man answered, his voice shaking now. "If you want to find him, that's where he'll be."

***

Funny, isn't it? Now that school's started again I am posting _more_. 

Obviously, a few big things are going to happen. The story begins to lose its fluffiness and humor quotient and move into more serious aspects. My muse has not left me yet, either, so expect plenty of drama. I still have no idea how this will end. Okay, some idea, but not exactly. ^_^

I've tried my very best to make the locations fit in this story. Obviously, the main location is the castle. Miyako's residence is a secondary location which is located about a day's ride to the south and a bit west. The Motomiya family resides a bit further south, and Ichijouji lives south as well, but more west – further north than Miyako's but not as far as the castle. The village Hikari and Daisuke visit is very near to where he lives. The Primary Village is further east than the castle, but still south. This doesn't figure in yet, but I'm going to assume that Mimi lives somewhere to the north of the castle. This may or may not become important in the future. 

Gennai's hut thingy and the woods he lives in are almost directly south of the castle – further west than the Primary Village, which almost directly east. Infinity Mountain is further east than the palace – almost a full day's walk. 

In the future I may make a map that helps to explain this better. When I get into the next story after this is when it gets even more confusing in terms of locations. I'd tell you why, but it would give away a few things I don't want to give away yet. ^_^

Now that I've completely confused the few people reading this, I'll end. Hope you're enjoying it, feel free to leave me comments complaining that I'm too darned confusing or writing too slowly or whatever. Of course, if you'd like to worship, that's acceptable as well. 

Thanks for reading! ^_^


	7. Part Seven: Refugees, Mountains, Books, ...

The Reign of Courage 

Part Seven: Refugees, Mountains, Books, and More Talking

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: None of the characters belong to me. They're the property of some Japanese people in suits. And some Americans, too, which is why they murdered them in that version…::breathes deeply:: This plot is Mine, all Mine! So don't take it. And don't sue, either, insults are not punishable by law. Besides, I have no money, and who wants this plot?

***

Takeru peered at the strange object before him. It appeared to be a sign. 

"What does it say?" Miyako asked from behind him. 

"The Village of Firsts," Yamato replied, reading from where he stood behind his brother. He shook his head. "But there's nothing here."

"First what?" Takeru wondered, scratching his head.

"Primary Village!" Patamon cheered, taking to the air. "It's the primary village!"

"I never thought I'd see it," Gabumon mused. 

"What's Primary Village?" Miyako questioned Hawkmon. 

"It's the place where all digimon are born," Wormmon explained.

_"All_ digimon?" Ken asked. Wormmon nodded. 

"Every digimon is born at Primary Village," Hawkmon agreed. "They all start out here, as eggs." 

"How do they get to their partners?" Takeru asked. 

Patamon shrugged. "I don't know. I can't remember back that far. I only know what I've heard." 

"Actually," Gabumon began. "The ones who have human partners are born like children. The digi-tama is laid by one of the parent's digimon. Only the wild digimon are born here now. At one point, a long time ago, all digimon were born here, but no longer." 

"This is where the old ones are reborn though, right?" Wormmon asked. 

"Re-born?" Ken questioned. 

"Digimon don't die, they just get reformatted," Takeru quoted, recalling one of his lessons as a child. 

"And when they're reformatted, they come here," Patamon finished. Suddenly, there was a strange noise that sounded like a stampede. A strong wind blew past them.

"Oh, good, we can go in," Gabumon looked pleased as he walked past the sign and disappeared. Yamato blinked, watching his partner disappear into the air. Then he followed. A moment later, the rest of the group walked after him.        

Miyako's eyes grew wide as she saw the bright colors that surrounded her. Here, there was no sign of the plains or mountains or forest that had covered the landscape. Instead, the entire area was filled with geometric shapes that were colored in bright pastel tones. "Wow…" she breathed. 

All around them on the ground were small brown baskets. Strange little smiling faces peered up at them that were easily identified as baby digimon. There were also eggs with bright colored patterns on them.  "Look at all the baby digimon," Takeru agreed, kneeling before one of the nearest baskets. 

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?" a voice called. 

Everyone turned heads to see a small red and blue digimon approaching. "Um, hello," Yamato began diplomatically. "We were just passing through, and…"

Electricity sparkled between the digimon's tail blades. "Keep – away – from – the – babies," he ordered. 

Yamato threw his hands in the air. "Hey, I wasn't going to hurt them," he replied somewhat defensively. 

Gabumon spoke up. "We were passing through the area. We meant no harm." 

The digimon frowned as though he distrusted them, but nodded. "I am Elecmon, and I am the keeper of Primary Village," he introduced himself. "I'm very protective of the babies." 

"I knew you looked familiar," Miyako recalled. "Elecmon is the same type of digimon that is partnered with the Queen!" 

Elecmon nodded in agreement. "Elecmon are known for their nurturing nature," he replied. "A Queen or mother would be most ideal as a human partner." 

"There's a lot of babies here," Takeru observed. "How do you take care of them all?" 

The digimon blushed slightly and shrugged modestly. "I manage. But I'm _very_ busy. And I'm afraid I cannot take _any_ more refugees." His tone was stern again. 

"Refugees?" Yamato repeated.

"We're not refugees," Ken spoke up. "We're passing through looking for a friend of ours. Why do you have refugees?" 

"There's some sort of evil in the area near here," Elecmon replied. "I don't know what. I'm too busy with the babies to pay attention. I've been dealing with literally hundreds of digimon, many without their partners, that are returning here because they are afraid." 

The visitors exchanged glances. "Do you mind if we talk with some of them?" Takeru asked. "We think our friend's disappearance might be related to this evil." 

Elecmon shrugged. "Go ahead," he replied, gesturing to a point in the distance. "They're over there. Most of them say they've come from the village near Infinity Mountain, but there are some from all over." 

Yamato nodded and turned to walk off. Takeru and Miyako remained behind, observing the baby digimon. 

"They're so cute!" Miyako grinned, picking up one of them and rubbing his head. 

"Patamon was this cute when he was little, too," Takeru recalled fondly. 

"Hey! I'm _still_ cute!" Patamon replied, mock-seriously.

***

Yamato observed the group of digimon. It was a _very_ diverse group. There were large Monochromon, smaller child digimon like Plotmon, Lopmon, and Terriermon, and even a few baby ones like Nyaromon and Koromon. 

"Who do you think would give us the best response?" he wondered, half to himself, and half to Ken and Gabumon, who had followed him. 

"Probably the Terriermon," Gabumon predicted. "They're usually even tempered."

"Anyone but the Monochromon," Yamato decided. He wasn't willing to deal with a group of _those_ again. 

They walked towards a group of about fifteen Terriermon and Lopmon that were talking. "Excuse me," Gabumon began politely. 

"Hello!" one of the Lopmon replied cheerfully. "How's it going?" 

"Um, fairly well," Gabumon answered, a bit taken aback by the other's positive attitude. 

"We're just passing through," Ken picked up. "And we're wondering why there are so many digimon here." 

"That's easy," a Terriermon spoke up. "We're running away." He giggled cheerfully as though someone had told an amusing joke. 

"Running from what?" Yamato couldn't resist asking. 

"From our village," one of the more serious looking Lopmon answered. "Things are _bad_ there." 

"A Lopmon village?" Ken wondered. 

"No. A human village," the Lopmon that had first spoken replied. 

"What sort of bad things?" Wormmon questioned. 

The serious Lopmon replied: "Something scary. All of the digimon have run away. Most of us came here." 

"A big scary digimon came and moved in on top of the mountain," the giggly Terriermon continued, a bit more serious now. "We didn't want to stay." 

Yamato and Ken exchanged glances. "What sort of big scary digimon?" Ken asked. 

"The big, black evil kind, of course," the first Lopmon replied. 

"And _powerful_," Terriermon added. 

"Very powerful," the second Lopmon agreed. 

"Did you know his name?" Yamato asked. 

All three of them shrugged in unison. "We know that he's big, powerful, and he has a large army," Terriermon explained. 

"And he has the power to make digimon be in his army against their will," the serious Lopmon added. 

Yamato frowned. "How does he do that?" 

"We're not sure," the first Lopmon replied. 

"Some sort of magic," Terriermon theorized with a slight shrug.

***

"Well, we got some information out of them, but who knows whether or not that's Devimon they're talking about," Yamato sighed as he and Ken reported back to Takeru and Miyako. 

"I'd say it is," Hawkmon decided. "Powerful, big, and scary fits the description fairly well."

"Exactly where is this village they're all from?" Takeru wondered. "I'd suggest we go there if we want to get any information out of them. 

"Elecmon said they came from the village near Infinity Mountain," Patamon recalled. 

Yamato removed his knapsack and took out the map of the area that he had brought. "According to the map, Infinity mountain is pretty far from here. At least another day's walk. It's totally in the opposite direction of the castle." 

"So it would be a bad idea to go there today," Miyako stated. 

"Definitely," Ken noted. "But at least we got _some_ information." 

"That's true," Gabumon agreed. "We won't have to go back empty-handed." 

***

Jyou sat down on the blanket they had spread out for their picnic lunch. Behind him, Gomamon splashed in the stream they had chosen to stop near. Armadimon lounged, napping in the sun on the banks of the river, but made no move to indulge in the water. 

Iori calmly refilled two canteens with water from the river before returning to the blanket. Jyou was setting out a few sandwiches he'd removed from his pack. When Iori returned, he gave the older boy his canteen and then seated himself on the opposite side of the cloth. 

Ordinarily, both Armadimon and Gomamon would have come immediately at the sound of the sandwiches unwrapping, but the golden-colored digimon required a nap at the moment, and Gomamon was too enraptured in the calmness of the stream to care about eating at the moment. Jyou calmly ate the sandwich set aside for himself, watching his traveling companion with mild interest. 

"It's awfully warm today," the young doctor commented casually, hoping to open the way to more conversation. 

Iori nodded, pausing to swallow before he answered. "It is."

"Where should we head next?" 

The younger boy shrugged aimlessly. "I'd suggest west, because no one else was heading that way."

Jyou nodded. "Makes sense." He pulled a map from his bag and studied it for a few moments. "It looks like there's a Koromon and Pyocomon village over there."

"Maybe they would know something," Iori agreed optimistically. 

"Hopefully."

***

The dirt road wound through the trees, heading west and curving amidst the dense foliage. The light flickered between the leaves on the four solemn travelers. 

"I sure hope Sora is gonna be okay," Gomamon stated suddenly, breaking the serene silence. 

"Me, too," Jyou agreed. He and Gomamon weren't very close to the young girl, but they knew her well enough to worry. 

"It's my prediction that the Prince won't let whoever's taken her get away with it," Iori stated. 

"He's gonna track her down and get that Devimon or whoever did it," Armadimon agreed with a fierce nod.

As they continued along the road, it became evident that many feet had passed along previously. "I wonder why so many people or digimon would be going to a Koromon village?" Jyou wondered aloud, voicing his questions. 

"It doesn't look good," Gomamon agreed. "We should be ready for an attack." 

"Isn't that a bit premature?" Jyou asked nervously. He did not like to fight. 

"We should be prepared," Iori agreed. He removed his pack and produced a long, thin staff.

"What's that?" the other boy questioned. 

"My grandfather trained me well in the art of Kendo," Iori replied as he began to walk again. "It is how I was able to secure my position at a young age." 

Jyou blinked as he watched the younger boy move ahead of him. Iori was nearly ten years younger then him. It had often crossed his mind to ask how a boy that young was able to get a position within the castle – and as one of the King's higher advisors at that! Now his questions were answered – at least partially. 

"Jyou?" Gomamon questioned from the path in front of him. "Hello Jyou! Are you coming?" 

"Huh? Oh yes, I'm coming." Jyou replied, hurrying to catch up. 

***

"Well that sign said that this is a Koromon village, but I don't see any Koromon," Gomamon observed. 

"No. No Koromon," Jyou agreed, peering around. A few dozen straw huts filled the clearing in the woods, and a sign near the entrance identified it as a village of Koromon. 

"Hello?" Armadimon stuck his head into a small hut. He came out a moment later, shaking his head in bewilderment. "I don't see anyone." 

"You don't suppose it's possible that they all went on vacation at the same time, do you?" Jyou wondered, scratching his head. 

"More likely someone scared them away," Iori replied quietly. He was studying some burn marks on the ground. Nearby, a circle of scorched earth appeared to be all that remained of one of the huts. 

"Whatever it was it must have been pretty powerful," Gomamon observed. 

"Let's split up and search the village. See if there's anyone left, and if there's any hints that anyone got away," Jyou decided. Iori nodded solemn agreement and walked to the left, while Jyou headed the other way. 

"Hello? Is there anyone here?" Gomamon called out as he scampered between the huts. Jyou noticed a few crumbs scattered about the ground, but no real supply of food. 

"Doesn't look like there's anyone here," he stated glumly. "We'd better head back."

As the group of four turned to leave the village and head back to the palace, they were aware of the imposing shadow of a large mountain, towering over the immediate landscape. 

"I think I've seen this mountain from the palace," Jyou mused. "Do you think we should check it out?" 

"I'm not sure," Iori admitted. "It looks kind of – frightening." 

"Ah, don't worry about it," Gomamon spoke. "It's just a mountain." 

Armadimon looked reluctant as well, but said nothing. "Yeah, I suppose you're right," Iori finally agreed. "There's nothing to be afraid of regarding a mountain."

And so, the younger boy swallowed his fear and trudged after his companions in the direction of the huge mountain that seemed to tower infinitely into the sky. 

***

"Any progress?" Tentomon questioned, entering the small underground room that served as his partner's lab. 

"Not much," Koushiro admitted, looking up from the large book that was on the table in front of him. 

"This books are so very big!" Momoe's Terriermon commented from where she stood, trying to look through a book with her partner. The book was larger than the small digimon, and she was obviously frustrated. 

"There's quite a bit of information to search through," Momoe agreed. "And it's old, so it's somewhat degraded by age."

"Like I said, a lot of this stuff isn't even regarded as fact," Koushiro stated. "Ancient mythology at best."

"Naturally much of the information has been lost over time," Lady Takenouchi agreed. "But we must carry on as best we can." 

"Well, I'm hear to take orders for lunch," Tentomon declared. He held up a small notebook in his small front claw. "The kitchen is rather understaffed, but Mimi has just returned, and she and Jun have offered to assist with making lunch." 

"Some food _would_ be nice," Momoe agreed. 

A few moments later, the small bug-like digimon flew off to deliver the orders to the kitchen. 

"I think I've found something," Lady Takenouchi noted shortly after their 'waiter' had departed. 

"Really?" Momoe looked up eagerly. 

"Go on, read it," Koushiro encouraged. 

"I think it's supposed to be some sort of prophetic poem. I'm not quite sure. But this is what it says: '_When the darkness rises, the seven will be called to action. The battle will be long, and will test their teamwork. The first battle shall be won by the smallest. True victory of the risen darkness comes from an unknown eighth. Protection of the loved with Hope and Light shall defeat the end darkness.' _But it goes on: _'The darkness shall return.'_"

There was a long pause. "That doesn't make much sense," Momoe noted. "Aren't there a lot more than seven or eight chosen?" 

"There's twelve all together," Koushiro replied. "It's possible, however, that only seven or eight of us will be called for this battle. It's also possible that the first eight refers to those who will possess a crest."

"I thought you had said there were nine crests?" Lady Takenouchi questioned. Though she and Momoe had not been there for the initial discussion, the young wizard had filled them in later.

"There are," Koushiro replied. "But the ninth is very strange…"

"Strange how?" 

"Kindness is not always listed as one of the evolutionary traits," he explained. "And it is often said to be controlled by the darkness." 

"That doesn't make any sense," Terriermon voiced her confusion. "How can a trait like Kindness be controlled by darkness?"

Koushiro was about to theorize, when he was interrupted by a warm feeling on his chest. He looked down and saw that his tag was glowing brightly.

***

"It certainly is a very tall mountain," Jyou observed. Suddenly, he reached into his pocket.

"What is it?" Iori questioned.

"My digivice – " the elder replied. "It's going off." He held the small blue box out to the younger boy. "I wonder if we've found Sora?" 

"Should we climb the mountain?" Armadimon wondered. 

"That _is_ the way it appears to be pointing," Jyou observed. "And I'd hate to leave her hear if this is where she is. But I don't think the four of us will do much good."

"Especially with only Gomamon to evolve," Iori agreed. He frowned in the direction of the mountain. 

"Well, it's not a total loss," the doctor tried to reassure him. "We can at least tell them we got a signal." Suddenly, the beeping from his digivice ceased. "Lost?" 

"Oh no!"

***

Koushiro followed the glowing aura of his crest as it led him down the hall outside his laboratory. He ran quickly, having left Lady Takenouchi and Momoe back in the lab. The hallway curved many times, and as Koushiro hurried, he found that he passed many of the exits from the basement. Instead, he discovered he was being led deeper into the hallways – to an area he'd never been before. 

He stopped, finally, his legs about to give out, in a narrow corridor that was quite some distance from his starting point. The glowing of the tag increased when he pointed it at one particular door, so the young wizard assumed therefore that his crest must be behind that door. 

The door, however, was made of a thick metal. Most likely the room behind it either was used to store something important or as a dungeon cell. Koushiro took a moment to wonder about that before returning to his immediate task. 

The first obvious thing one does when confronted with a door is to grip the handle and try to open it. This young man was like his peers in that respect, but he quickly discovered that his physical strength would not be enough. So he resorted to his brain, which was one of his true strengths. 

Since Koushiro also happened to be a wizard – and a rather accomplished one at that – he focused on attempting to remember a spell he'd not had much use for – a spell to open a door. 

Ordinarily, Koushiro preferred to simply study and expand his knowledge, so he used very few spells on a regular basis. He'd recently become quite proficient at creating the classic energy ball. This was useful not only for knocking out enemies – which had been truly helpful in the recent battle – but also for imploding doors or walls. This thick metal door, however, was not something he thought his energy balls would have the strength for. 

And so he searched his memory for a good fifteen minutes. Eventually, he remembered the spell, and began to form the complex hand movements that went with it. 

Unfortunately, his first attempt was an utter failure. A puff of smoke emerged from the air, and that was it. Koushiro quickly went over his movements and realized he'd made a mistake. Instead, he'd accidentally performed a rather useless spell to turn one's hair pink. 

A few moments later and he'd corrected himself. The door swung open easily at his command. 

The inside room was glowing so brightly the wizard had to shield his eyes. It dimmed a bit, and he took a step forward. A side of the wall had a large symbol on the side of it – two interconnected circles. "Chishiki!" Koushiro realized breathlessly as the symbol transformed to a crest and connected itself with his tag. "I should have known." 

Now that the glowing crest was gone, the room was easily visible. It was – or had been – a small, circle – shaped room with strange symbol markings covering the walls. Now, with one of the walls disappeared, the room was slightly larger. Koushiro made his way through the gap in the wall.

***

"Well, maybe it _is_ a total loss," Jyou sighed pessimistically. "Darn. I know I had something." He shook his blank digivice a few times, but to no avail. "This is just great." 

"Jyou, beating yourself up over it won't do any good!" Gomamon chided his partner. "We'll just head back and tell them we got a signal here, it's not your fault." 

"I know – " the doctor admitted. "It's just – " he sighed. "I really wanted to help Sora." 

"Jyou – your tag!" Iori and Armadimon exclaimed in unison. "It's glowing!"

The dark – haired doctor peered in astonishment at the tag, and then began to hurry in the direction it pointed.

***

"I _think_ he went this way," Momoe spoke. "But I'm not sure." 

"Koushiro!" Mimi called. "KOUSHIRO!" Her voice echoed through the halls. 

Jun, carrying the tray of food they'd prepared for the young wizard before he'd disappeared, sighed. "I think maybe we should split up."

"An excellent idea," Lady Takenouchi agreed. She was about to suggest which way each person should head, when they heard a crashing noise.

Immediately, the group headed down that hallway. After a few minutes of walking, they found a heavy metal door which had been opened wide into the hall. They peered into the doorway and found a huge pile of books covering the floor. 

"Koushiro!" Mimi gasped. "What the - ?"

The boy in question sat in the midst of the books, rubbing what must have been a very sore head. He grinned sheepishly. "Hi Mimi," he said. "I – uh – found some books." 

"What is this room?" Jun wondered. 

"I don't know," he admitted. "I was following my tag and it led me here." As he spoke, he stood up and began to gather some of the books into piles. "I needed to use a spell to open the door. My crest was part of the wall there. When I got my crest I discovered this room, which was full of books that promptly spilled on me." 

"Don't you think perhaps you should find out if it's all right for you to use those books?" Lady Takenouchi questioned. 

***

Iori watched nervously as the doctor began to scale a rocky outcrop at the bottom of the tall mountain. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Doctor?" he called to the figure a few feet above him. 

Jyou grinned, hiding his nervousness. "Of course it's not!" he replied. "But I've got to find my crest." The tag around his neck was still glowing. 

The smaller chosen and the two digimon watched from the bottom of the mountain as he climbed. Suddenly, Iori was able to see a bright light emanating from the side of the cliff. 

"Found it!" the doctor shouted from above. A short while later, he was safe on the ground again beside Iori, the crest secured in his tag. 

Iori nodded. "Let's head back."

***

Taichi blinked at the young wizard surrounded by piles of books. "There must be – hundreds of books here! Where did they all come from?"

"I was hoping you'd know that," Koushiro replied, shoving several more into a pile. He had made considerable progress, but was still unable to escape the small room. 

The brown-haired boy shook his head. "I've never seen this room before." He turned to Jun. "Do me a favor and fetch my mother. Hopefully she'll know." 

"What are the books of?" Agumon questioned from behind his partner. 

"As far as I can tell – everything," Koushiro answered. "There are quite a few books about Digimon prophecies and such that I might find useful. A few books of beginner spells, a book of geographic area maps, an index of Digimon, a family history of the royal family of Yagami beginning about a thousand years ago – and ending six hundred years ago, a few math books, some stories, and a few that appear to be journals of some sort." He frowned slightly. "It would take me ages to go through all of them." 

"I should say so," a female voice noted from behind Taichi. "There are no less than six hundred and twenty four books in that room." 

"Mother, what is this place?" Taichi questioned. 

"It was a hidden room. Your father and many generations of ancestors before him had been searching for it for quite some time." 

"I can certainly see why," Jun observed. "But why was it hidden?" 

"A long time ago, when relations between the varying kingdoms in this area were not so peaceful, it was believed that whoever had the best information about Digimon would be best able to evolve them. From what I can tell, this is around the time your original chosen appeared, Koushiro," the Queen began. 

"So the rest of the world wanted to make their Digimon evolve, too," Jun nodded in understanding. 

"Precisely. They believed that by studying and researching they might one day be able to succeed. Unfortunately, this created much conflict in the area. I'm sure you've all heard of the Great Wars?"

Jun frowned a moment in confusion. "Vaguely."

"I don't remember much," Taichi admitted. 

"I don't know anything about them," Momoe stated.

Koushiro nodded in understanding. "More than six hundred years ago," he agreed. When the Queen nodded for him to continue, he did. "The time I was talking about before, when they tried to use different forms of de-evolution spells to weaken the enemy. Almost no human soldiers were used. Stronger wild digimon were tamed."

"That's right," Jun remembered. "There were more than a hundred little wars in each year. The peace wasn't reissued until all the kingdoms agreed to never use the digimon for battle again – except for soldier partners, of course." 

"And then the knowledge they'd been researching on was sealed away," Taichi finished. "That explains why the books treated the first chosen as myths. The true histories were sealed away so no one would be tempted to try to evolve digimon and start new wars." 

Koushiro nodded. "Precisely." 

"But then – why did the room reveal itself to you again?" Momoe wondered. 

"Probably because the knowledge is useful to the new Chosen," the Queen stated. "And so the knowledge was revealed to the bearer of the crest of knowledge." 

"This is an awful lot of knowledge for one person," Koushiro sighed, peering at the six hundred and twenty four books surrounding him.

***

The great table was covered with a hefty amount of food. Despite the large number of people currently in the palace preparing for the coronation celebration, this table seated a small percentage of those present. 

Only thirteen people sat at this table. 

Taichi sat at the head of the table, currently forgetting his duties as host and the reason he'd decided to have this table set up, therefore devouring his food as though he hadn't eaten all day. Which was partially true. He hadn't eaten very much, since he disliked being the only one to remain behind while the others were searching for Sora and he had been worrying. Agumon sat beside him, devouring his food just as eagerly even though he hadn't missed a meal.

Hikari sat at the opposing end of the table, shaking her head slightly at her elder brother's behavior and eating her food calmly as only a princess possibly could. Tailmon rolled her eyes and shared a knowing glance with her partner. 

Beside Taichi on his right sat Yamato, talking eagerly with his brother as he devoured his food. Gabumon and he exercised a bit more restraint than the Prince. 

On Taichi's other side was Koushiro, who was peering over a book as he ate. This particular one was the most interesting of the six hundred and twenty four books he'd recently discovered. It was, so far as he was able to tell, a description of the various enemies the first chosen had fought. Koushiro was eagerly searching the book, hoping to gain some knowledge about what they might be up against. Tentomon ate his food while he peered at the same book.

Ordinarily, Mimi might have found it slightly annoying that Koushiro was reading while eating, but today she was too involved in a conversation with Jun, who sat beside her. Palmon and Alraumon were also eagerly conversing as they ate. 

Momoe sat beside Jun, occasionally adding to the conversation, but mostly talking with her sister and Hikari, who sat on her opposite side. Terriermon was too interested in her food to care too much about things she was positively certain would be discussed again later, but Hawkmon and Tailmon paid close attention and occasionally added things. 

Meanwhile at the opposite side of the table, Daisuke and Ken were arguing eagerly about some matter that no one was really able to distinguish. Their partners, however, appeared uninterested in the discussion. 

Iori and Jyou sat between Ken and Daisuke and Yamato and Takeru and managed to stay clear of both discussions. Both instead ate calmly and deliberately as though nothing unusual were going on, though their partners chatted eagerly.

Eventually, the food was nearly gone and Taichi had eaten his full. The empty plates were taken away, and it was decided that everyone would detail what they had discovered that day. This way they could save time instead of having to repeat the same stories and possibly have information lost. 

"Yamato? You first."

"We discovered the village of firsts," Yamato stated, and then waited patiently for the questioning responses to quiet down. 

"The village of firsts is where all digimon that aren't partners are born and where all digimon are reborn," Takeru continued where his brother had left off. "It's run by an Elecmon who is _extremely _protective of the babies there." 

"There also happen to be a large number of refugee digimon there," Ken picked up the account. "Lopmon, Terriermon, Monochromon, Nyaromon, Koromon. All kinds. They appear to be hiding from sort of evil force."

"They weren't able to tell us _what_ they were running from," Yamato continued. "But there was definitely some sort of evil." 

Taichi nodded. "Miyako? Anything to add?" 

Miyako shook her head. "They said it all. Elecmon seems to think that Primary Village is overrun with refugees."

Taichi nodded. "Mimi?" 

"Well, Gennai didn't have any real useful information for us," Mimi replied. "But I was able to find my crest – Junshin." 

"Gennai did tell us that Devimon isn't the real evil, and that there's something more sinister behind it all. But Koushiro could have told us that," Jun added. 

Again, Taichi nodded. "Jyou? Iori?" 

"We wandered around until we got to a deserted village. The map said it was a Pyocomon and Koromon village, but there was nothing there," Iori began. 

"The village was at the base of an extremely tall mountain. I thought I had a signal for a moment on my digivice, but it disappeared a moment later," Jyou continued. 

"It's possible something could be blocking the signal," Koushiro noted with a frown.

Jyou nodded in agreement. "Anyway, I found my crest. But I have no idea what it is." He held up his tag, now attached to the crest. 

Koushiro peered at it for a moment. "I'll have to double check the book," he replied. "But I do believe that is Seijitsu." 

"Seijitsu?" Taichi repeated. "Faith?" 

Koushiro nodded. 

"Excuse me, doctor," Daisuke interrupted. "But did you say that village was at the base of a mountain?" 

"Yes," Iori replied. "A very tall mountain." 

"That could be Infinity mountain," Miyako stated. "That's where those Lopmon were running from." 

"That's where you'll find Devimon," Hikari said in a small voice. 

"What?" Taichi asked. 

"That's what the old man in the village told me," she said, clearer now. "That an evil came down from Infinity mountain. When that happened, all the partner digimon were forced to leave." 

"The two old people had to stay because they couldn't leave. But their digimon did. They knew better than to stay," Daisuke nodded.

"The old man said that when the evil came down from the mountain, all the digimon, wild and partner, tamed and untamed – they all fled. He said that if we wanted to find the evil, that would be where to look." 

"Then – if Sora was taken by Devimon – as the note said – that would be where to look," Yamato summarized. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, frowning. 

"Doesn't sound like great odds," Koushiro noted. "Perhaps this will be of assistance." 

There was a moment of silence. "What?" Yamato wondered. 

"This book," Koushiro replied. Quickly, he went over how he had discovered his crest and the room full of books. Then he began to read the entry on Devimon. 

"'_Devimon. Adult level. The first true enemy of the Seven Chosen. Only through the evolution of the smallest were they able to defeat him. This required the elder to release his hold on the younger. Only then was evolution possible through the child who would be later known as Hope.'"_

"Well, that was about as clear as mud," Yamato grumbled sarcastically. 

"They don't refer to the Chosen by names," Koushiro explained. "They refer to them by the power of the crest they would eventually inherit. Unfortunately, that doesn't help us much because we don't know what everyone's crest will be. Also, this particular book doesn't explain anything about the digimentals."

"That doesn't make any sense," Daisuke frowned. "Did the first Chosen not have digimentals? Or were there only seven of them?"

"No, they must have had them," Koushiro replied. "They were mentioned in the other books I had, so they must have existed. Remember, Daisuke, I have six hundred and twenty four books to go through. This is only one." 

Daisuke blinked.

***

What's my favorite literary technique? Give ya three guesses…Ah, no I won't… I'll tell you. It's foreshadowing. 

**Foreshadow** : verb [T] ESPECIALLY LITERARY   
to act as a warning or sign of (a future event) 

In literary terms, it means I'm telling you about stuff that hasn't yet happened. There's not a lot in this chapter, but there will be quite a bit in the next one! If any of you can spot it, you get…well, you get brownie points. That's about it. Oh well. 

Why didn't Momoe know about the big war thing? Well, since Miyako and her siblings didn't spend very much time in the castle, they didn't get as much education as some of the others. Jun and Taichi would have, naturally, but as neither of them appear to me to be very studious, I figure that they wouldn't have remembered much about what they had learned. 

Coming soon will be a fight. And then another fight. And maybe some other stuff. ^_^ The end? Stay tuned, I still have no concrete plans! 

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I love readers.^_^


	8. Part Eight: The Night Before - Stress Re...

The Reign of Courage

Part Eight:  The Night Before – Stress Relief

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy #1: Digimon does not belong to me. This includes all characters, digimon, and whatnot. That belongs to the suits and important peoples at Toei, Saban, and a bunch of other companies. This story, however, is mine!

Not-so-standard Disclaimer Thingy #2: Despite the innuendo in the title of this chapter, there is no more or less romance than previous chapters. Just thought I'd warn you. ^_^

***

Taichi peered blankly out at the scenery for the second time in the last week. "This is getting to be a habit," he mumbled under his breath. 

"Staring out at the world while you're upset?" Agumon questioned. "Yes. You should be careful. Eventually it may take up all your time." 

The human half of the partnership responded to that statement with a simple glare before turning back to said scenery. "I've made up my mind, Agumon," he stated instead. 

"What do you mean?" the dinosaur questioned. 

"I'm going to leave Hikari here tomorrow in case of trouble and I'm going out to find Sora." 

"Are you sure that's wise?" Agumon wondered. "What if Hikari objects?" 

"Then the place can run itself for a day."

Agumon frowned, opened his mouth as if to say something, and then shut it again. "Whatever you say, Taichi," he decided instead. 

"I'm just sick of sitting here, Agumon!" Taichi defended himself as though the digimon had opposed. "Everyone else gets to go out and search for Sora and save her and I'm just stuck here worrying. Well, I'm not going to sit here and worry anymore. I'm going out there with the rest of them, and if they have any objections they'll just have to deal with them."         

"I don't have any objections," Hikari noted. "As long as you don't leave me behind." 

After jumping nearly a foot in the air, her brother sighed. "I need to find a place to think that's more private." 

Hikari shrugged. "A balcony isn't very private," she noted. "What's this about going out?" 

"I'm going with the others to look for Sora." 

"I'm not staying here," she retorted. "I think I'll be needed just as much as you, and Sora's my friend, too." 

"Fine. This place can run itself for a day." 

"You really think it'll take only a day?" Tailmon questioned from the doorway.

He frowned. 

"She has a point, Taichi," Hikari noted. "This might be something that takes a while. I certainly understand your need to look for Sora, but I wonder how much time you're willing to put into it."

He sighed in response and was silent for a moment. "I can't stay here and do nothing anymore."

"How much do you really want to help Sora?" Tailmon questioned. "And how much is simply boredom?"

The brown-haired boy spun around then. "It's not about boredom!" he defended adamantly. "It's because I can't stand the thought of people going out and risking their lives for _me_ while I do nothing here!"

"All right, calm down," Hikari said in a soft voice, designed to keep the peace. "I have no problems with you coming, and I'm sure no one else will, either. If you'd like, I'll ask them their opinions tonight. But it's really your decision."

He nodded, turning back to the scenery. "Do that, then. And I'll think about it." 

***

Koushiro was nose-deep in one of his six hundred and twenty four books when the knock came at his door. As Tentomon was involved in one of his numerous social functions involving the other digimon, the young wizard did not immediately respond to the knock. 

It sounded again and again, the knocker apparently being of the intelligent persuasion and therefore possessing the knowledge that the holder of said crest was most likely involved in such pursuits of knowledge himself. 

Eventually, on about the twenty sixth knock, the wizard noted the annoying pounding noise that was coming from the entrance and realized his partner was indisposed and got up to answer it. Unfortunately, this required him to navigate his way past several piles of books, which took some time. 

By the thirty fourth knock, the young wizard opened the door. "Sorry," he began in apology. "I was busy –"

"Reading. I know," Hikari nodded. "I figured. I need to ask you something." 

"Certainly," he replied. "What question may I answer tonight?" 

"Actually, it's a sort of personal question. A matter of opinion."

"Oh," Koushiro sounded slightly disappointed. "Well, I guess I can answer that, too. What is it?"

"My brother is having something of a crisis," Hikari stated, briefly detailing the situation that had occurred previously. "I need your opinion." 

Koushiro frowned momentarily. "Well, answering from a logical standpoint, it is best that the ruler of the country remain in the castle where he is needed. However, he may be needed in the coming battle, especially if our opponent is as strong as I suspect. And, if he does not participate in the battle, he may be seen as weaker than he really is. From hearing your brother's current state of mind, I can predict what his crest may be, and it would be best to activate such a crest – or find it if he went along."

"My brother's crest? What do you think it is?" 

"Yuuki, of course," Koushiro replied. 

"Courage." Hikari nodded in agreement. 

"Exactly. I think that because Daisuke possesses the digimental of Yuuki and has many of the same opinions. Wanting to protect his friends and a dislike of being useless come to mind." 

Hikari nodded again. "Your opinion then?" 

The wizard shrugged. "Let him come. I'm sure the staff can successfully run the kingdom for a bit without him – especially since he's not even crowned King yet. It'll be better for his mental health, at any rate." 

***

Daisuke scrutinized the board and the little wooden pieces resting in front of him for several moments. Finally, he lifted one of them and moved it a few spaces forward. 

A sigh. "You're pathetic, you know that? Checkmate." 

"Not again!"

"Yes, again. I'm done. You're too easy." 

"Come on," Daisuke protested. "One more time?" 

V-mon shook his head. "No. This is boring. Can we play a different game?" 

With a sigh, the redheaded boy agreed. "I guess," he decided, sweeping the chess pieces off the board and into the small wooden box in which they belonged.

There was a knock on the door. "I wonder who that is?" V-mon wondered. 

"Only one way to find out!" Daisuke flung open his door to reveal Miyako. 

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she apologized. "I guess I was just feeling kind of lonely."

"No, no, it's all right. V-mon was just beating me at chess, that's all," he assured her. "Want to play a game? I'm kind of bored."

Miyako shrugged. "Sure."

"How's cards sound?"

A few moments later the two were involved in a game of cards and had progressed steadily through the game. "Where's Ken?" Miyako asked. 

Daisuke shrugged as he observed his hand of cards. "I never know anymore," he sighed. "He used to tell me every time he was leaving, but now I look for him and I don't know where he is. I just hope it's not doing something stupid."  
"Why? Because it's your job?" V-mon quipped from where he sat on the couch, looking through one of Koushiro's six hundred and twenty four books. 

Miyako laughed. "Very funny," the boy noted dryly. 

A few minutes later, the door from the adjoining bedroom opened, and Ken stepped into the parlor. "Who's winning?" he wondered conversationally. 

"I am!" Both Miyako and Daisuke announced in unison, which caused their observer to laugh.

There was a knock at the door. As neither of the two combatants seemed eager to relent their game, Ken strode easily to the door and opened it. 

"Hello," Hikari greeted. "I've just come by to ask an opinion." 

"On what?" he questioned. 

"A very complicated matter. Can I come in?" 

"Sure. Just don't disturb the players." 

"Players?" Hikari peeked around the door and stepped in. "Ah." 

"Hikari! Hi!" Miyako and Daisuke spoke in unison. Then returned to their game. 

"What's the question?" Ken wondered, since he was the only one not preoccupied with something else. 

"Actually, it's for everyone. But I think I should wait to ask them until they're less distracted."

He nodded. "Good plan."

Quickly, Hikari went over the conversation she'd just had with Taichi. "He's unsure if he should go or not." 

Ken thought for a moment, and then shrugged in response. "I don't see why not," he replied. "He has a digimon that can evolve, and therefore will be useful in the battle, right?" 

"Yes," she agreed. "We hadn't considered that."

"In that case, he should go." 

"You don't think it would be wiser for him to stay home and be safe?" 

He shook his head. "No. If this new enemy is serious about a war of some sort, then he probably won't be safe for long."

"Better if he doesn't repeat the mistakes his father made," Daisuke noted from behind his hand of cards. 

"What mistakes are those?" Miyako wondered, setting the card she had chosen on the table. 

Daisuke set his own card down. "The kind that Kings always make," he replied. "Staying inside their castle and having no idea of what's going on in their kingdom. Leads to rebellion, revolution, wars."

Hikari was silent for a moment. "I don't think Taichi will be one to want to stay at home at all," she noted. 

"No, and I don't think so either," Daisuke agreed. "Which is good. I think he should go, too. It's best if he breaks out of the habit of staying in the castle behind locked doors all the time." He set down his hand. "I win." 

Miyako frowned. "You cheated, I'll bet." 

"Miyako? What do you think?" Hikari interrupted before an argument could begin. 

Abandoning her losing hand, Miyako thought silently for a moment. "I think I agree," she decided. "He could be useful in the battle that'll probably take place. And if he wants to help Sora, why not?"

Opinions received, Hikari nodded. "Thanks." 

"Wait," Daisuke interrupted. "Don't you want to stay - play a game?" 

"Sorry," she apologized with a smile. "I'm on an opinion-gathering mission." 

***

"So you're saying that your grandfather learned Kendo from people that had learned it from the ancients?" Jyou questioned. He sat on a small stone wall beside a shallow pond, watching as Iori moved a stick and his body in rhythmic movements. 

The youngest Chosen nodded without stopping his movements. "Grandfather was a Kendo master," he replied. "He ran his own dojo and taught the finest students in the kingdom. I was privileged enough to learn from him after my father died." 

"It appears you've learned a lot," the doctor observed. 

"I'm still a beginner in many ways," he answered modestly as he paused in his workout. "My grandfather's life ended before I could complete my training." 

"Excuse me," another voice interrupted. "I'm sorry. Do you mind if I sit and watch, Iori?" Takeru appeared beside the shallow pond. 

The brown haired boy nodded. "Feel free," he replied. "But I'm resting for the moment." 

"I've always thought Kendo was a fascinating self-defense," Takeru stated conversationally. "Is it much different from fencing?" 

"In some ways," Iori replied. "And in others it is very much the same." He paused for a moment. "If you'd like, I can teach you a few things." 

"Would you?" the blond boy questioned eagerly. "Thanks!" 

Before the lesson could begin, the conversation was interrupted once again. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding," Hikari apologized. "But I need to ask you all something." 

"Of course," Iori replied. 

"What is it?" Jyou wondered. 

Quickly, Hikari explained the conversation with her brother for the third time that evening. "I need to know what everyone thinks. Taichi's not certain he should go." 

"It _would_ be safer if he stayed," Jyou noted. "Although we could use him." 

"The Kingdom could survive without him for a day," Iori stated. "It's only if it takes beyond a day that he would need to be concerned. He should follow what's in his heart." 

Takeru agreed. "If he feels that going to save Sora is a good idea, he should do that. Our ideas are helpful, but it's his own feelings that will decide. If I were he, I would go." 

***

Hikari left the gardens and re-entered the castle. She still needed to talk to Mimi and Yamato, and was unsure of who to approach next. Since her re-entrance was closer to Mimi's room, she decided that it would be best to approach her first. 

It turned out that Mimi was not in her room, but in fact in the main hall, overseeing some of the workers arranging flowers. Perched on tall ladders, the men secured the flowers to the windows and walls while Mimi directed from the safety of the ground. 

"No! The pink flowers go over there. For that section, we need the red ones!" she was shouting as Hikari entered the massive room. 

"Does this color banner go over the throne or the entrance?" another woman questioned. 

"Neither. It goes under the red flowers," Mimi replied. She glanced at a piece of paper on which she'd written nearly all her plans, and then turned to an assembly of horn-blowers. "No, no, you need to stand a little to the left. That's it! Right there!"

"Excuse me," Hikari began, but was interrupted. 

"Are the horn players wearing hats?" another worker asked. 

"Yes, big black hats," Mimi replied. 

"They might not be ready on time." 

Hikari flinched as she saw the look that briefly passed over her face. "They've got to be. Tell them to work faster." 

"Mimi – I," Hikari tried again, but again was interrupted. 

"Excuse me," a woman apologized as she hurried past her. "Mimi, are we having the purple flowers behind the throne or the red ones?" 

"I think we decided on red," Mimi replied, looking at the list. "No, no, purple. That's right. It's more regal. Two big tubs." 

"Excuse me," Hikari tried again, and this time the other girl finally noticed her. 

"Oh, Hikari, there you are. I need you to come and try on this dress. It's in my room. Come on." 

"Actually, I needed to ask you something. It's about my brother."

"No problem, you can ask me while you're dressing," the older girl assured her. She opened the door to her room. "I know it's in here somewhere," she mumbled under her breath as she began to search through her closet. 

"I think Taichi is having some trouble making a decision," Hikari began. 

"Ah!" Mimi produced the dress, a light color pink, and held it out. "Perfect, don't you think?" 

"It's very nice," Hikari agreed, admiring the dress. "I think it might be a little big, though." 

"Well, try it on and find out." Mimi returned to her closet to search while Hikari began to change. "So, he's having trouble with a decision? Well, you tell him I think that Sora's a perfectly nice girl and he won't regret it." 

Hikari nearly fell down. "What?"   
"I know, I know, maybe she's not the kind of girl he wants to spend his _whole_ life with, but he'll warm up to her. And besides, who else is he going to find?" Mimi continued from within the closet. 

"Mimi, that's not what I meant." Slowly, Hikari began to breathe more easily, slipping the dress over her head. "Hmm. It's a bit loose." 

The brown-haired girl poked her head out of the closet. "It's not?" She noted the dress. "Oh, that can be fixed easily. Turn around." 

"No, not at all, although it does have to do with Sora." 

"See? I was half right, wasn't I?" Mimi pulled on some strings in the back of the dress. "All you have to do is pull these a bit tighter. It's adjustable. Is that better?" 

Hikari nodded. "Yes, that's a better fit. Do you have a mirror?" 

"In the washroom. So what is the Prince's current decision?" 

"He wants to go with everyone tomorrow when we search for Sora. He feels like he's sending people off to die for him," Hikari replied from behind the door. "Oh, yes, this looks very nice." 

"I thought it was something you'd like. So, he wants to go? What's the decision?" 

The younger girl sighed as she emerged from the washroom. "He's not sure if he should. If he should stay here and oversee things instead. But he doesn't want to abandon her." 

Mimi frowned in thought. "Now it's just a matter of what to do with your hair. It's so short. Oh, maybe we can put a flower in it? I've got one in here somewhere." She began to rummage through the closet. "If he thinks he's a help, he should go," she offered from within the closet. "No sense in staying here and making himself miserable when he can be useful somewhere else, right?" 

Hikari nodded, though Mimi couldn't see from inside the closet. "Exactly my thoughts," she agreed. "Thanks, Mimi." 

"No problem," she replied as she emerged from the closet again, this time holding a white flower in her hand. "Let's see - " 

***

"The scenery doesn't really change much, does it?" Agumon observed. His partner didn't respond. "You're not much fun, you know that?" Still no answer. 

The yellow dinosaur shrugged as he turned back inside the room. There was a knock at the door. "Taichi?" he questioned. "Someone's here." 

"Get it for me?" 

Agumon sighed as he went to open the door. "What am I, a door - mon?" he mumbled under his breath. "Oh, hello Yamato, Gabumon."

"Agumon, hi," Yamato greeted. "I was actually looking for our fearless leader. Any sign of him?" 

"Just the usual place," Agumon replied. "Out on the balcony, brooding and thinking too much." He turned to Gabumon. "Tentomon's out back playing a game with Gomamon and Patamon. Want to join them?" 

"Sure," Gabumon agreed pleasantly. 

"Great. I can't stand being here anymore. It's depressive!"

Yamato chuckled slightly as he watched his partner and Agumon leave. He shut the door quietly behind him and crept quietly across the room. 

_'In all the years I've known him, Taichi's never gotten any neater,'_ he observed mentally as he stepped over a shirt lying on the ground and tossed it into a pile of dirty clothes. Several years earlier, the young Prince, in his first act of rebellion, had flatly refused to allow a maid into his room. His parents had eventually forced him to relent enough for a monthly cleaning to rid the dust, but for the most part, he was in charge of his own cleaning. Therefore, his bedroom was the sloppiest in the castle. 

Yamato paused just inside the door to the veranda. He knew that Taichi probably hadn't heard him talking with the digimon, and had no idea he was even in his room. He sighed slightly. One day, that would get him in trouble. 

"Hmm, yeah, I'd say this was brooding," he observed from the doorway. 

Startled slightly, the other boy turned around. "Who let you in?" he wondered grumpily. 

"Agumon," the blond replied. "He said you were brooding and wanted to get out of here." 

Taichi snorted slightly before returning to his post, viewing the grounds. "I'm not brooding," he replied defensively. "I'm thinking." 

"Right. Big difference," Yamato responded sarcastically. He strolled to the edge of the veranda and leaned against the stone wall beside his friend. There was silence for a few moments as they both peered out at the scenery. 

"You know, I seem to remember you saying something about not wanting to spend the rest of your life enclosed behind stone walls," Yamato began, still appearing to be interested in the scenery. "Yet you spend quite a bit of time in here, brooding. Oh, excuse me, thinking." 

Taichi turned to face his friend, who was now apparently quite interested in watching whatever it was the digimon had decided to do on the grounds below. "Hikari sent you, didn't she?" 

"Hikari? No, haven't seen her. Why?" Yamato appeared genuinely confused.

He shook his head. "No big deal," he replied. "So, did you just come by to admire the view from my room?"   
"Actually, yes. You have a great view. Can I have your room?" 

Taichi rolled his eyes. "Sure. If you clean it out," he retorted. 

Yamato shook his head. "You couldn't offer me enough gold to do that," he replied. 

"Well, then why are you here?" 

"Am I not allowed to spend time with you anymore? I seem to remember us once considering ourselves friends," he replied with a slight bit of over-acted hurt in his voice and a pair of big, sorrowful looking eyes.

"Very funny. Very funny. You should be a clown." 

"Hmm. Actually, I wanted to talk about tomorrow. If you have any plans." 

"Plans? What are they?" Taichi wondered. 

"Ha. Now who's a clown?" Yamato questioned sarcastically. "Surely you have _some_ idea." 

Taichi turned around and leaned his elbows on the wall of the balcony. "Not really," he confessed. "I guess we just head in and do what we can." 

"Do – what we can?" Yamato repeated blankly.

"Yes." A nod. "Obviously the goal is to find Sora and get her out of there. If we can't accomplish that, then I'd say I'm hoping no one dies." 

At that the blond boy went slightly pale. "Dies?" he repeated, and then shuddered. "I hope not." 

Taichi glanced up at the sky. "Me, too."

"Can I ask you something?" 

"Sure." He turned his gaze back towards his friend, but now Yamato was peering out at the scenery intensely. 

"How much of a friend do you think I am?" 

Taichi blinked once, then twice. "What?" 

"How much of a friend do you – "

"I heard what you said," the brown-haired boy waved the repetition aside. "I just don't know why you're asking this." 

Yamato shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes, I guess, I feel like – I don't know, like we're not as close as we used to be." He turned his blue eyes back to Taichi, and they appeared, for a moment, to peer right into the other boy's soul. 

Taichi blinked again, and sighed. "I consider you my best friend," he replied. "You know that." 

"Hmm." Yamato closed his intense eyes for a moment and then turned back to the scenery. "I'm trying to figure this thing out." He glanced down at his chest, where the crest of Friendship hung on a string. 

"Ah," Taichi nodded then. He peered at the stars for a moment. "Well, I think you have to figure out what it means, first. And then figure out what it means to you." 

"What friendship means?" Taichi nodded. "I'm not sure." He sighed. "Maybe that's why I'm having trouble with it. I don't know exactly what that means." 

Taichi turned away from the stars. "Well, a good friend is one that – I guess would tell you if you were acting like an idiot. And they'd listen to you." 

"Kind of like a digimon partner?" Yamato wondered. 

"Yeah. I guess. I mean, Agumon's my friend, too, but it's more than that. It's – deeper I think. With a friend I can talk about things, and do things with them. With Agumon, it's more like he's a part of me." 

"Hmm." 

"Today's a good day for deep thinking, huh?" Taichi noted casually. 

"Yeah, looks that way."

"How about we stop thinking and do something?"

"Like what?" 

"I don't know. We could play a game. Or have a duel. Like we used to." 

Yamato raised an eyebrow. "I remember our duels," he replied cautiously. "They usually ended with one of us bleeding." 

Taichi laughed. "Yeah. We need that again. Let's go." 

***

Hikari sighed as she peered out the window. Taichi and Yamato had apparently begun a casual fencing duel, but now it had progressed into a serious battle, with both of them swinging violently at each other. If she hadn't known this was a common occurrence, she would have been concerned that they were trying to hurt each other. 

"Strange," she mumbled under her breath, regarding the fight, the nature of the friendship, and life in general. Then she sighed, wondering what to do now.

A few moments later she found herself knocking on another door. She could hear Daisuke and Miyako arguing loudly from behind it, and Ken opened the door after a few moments with a finger in his left ear. "Sorry about the noise," he apologized loudly. 

"I didn't cheat!" Daisuke was yelling. "Just because you stink at the game is no reason to accuse me of cheating!" 

"You _had_ to have cheated! I know it! Just confess!" Miyako shouted, without having paid a bit of attention to what Daisuke had yelled. 

"Are they like this often?" Hikari wondered, observing the fight. 

He sighed and rolled his eyes slightly. "It's not usually this – loud," he replied. "I think they're working out some tension or something." 

"It seems to be a theme," she noted quietly, but because of the yelling, Ken didn't even hear. 

A few moments later, the fight had not abated. "Why don't we break them up?" Hikari half-shouted to be heard. 

Ken raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Break it up?" he repeated. "I guess. Which one do you want?"  
"Doesn't matter to me." 

A moment later, Ken was dragging Daisuke away from the scene, while Hikari was attempting to calm Miyako. They had decided that Ken was best suited for the dragging portion simply because nothing short of physical intervention would prevent the boy from continuing. Although Miyako was just as stubborn. 

A few minutes after that, the fight was over, and they had decided that games would be best abandoned for the night. Instead, since the moon had recently risen, they decided it would be nice to get out of the building and go for a walk. 

The moment they stepped out of the castle, they were able to see that the digimon had abandoned their game and were now involved in watching the duel between Yamato and Taichi. Hikari sighed slightly, but Daisuke appeared concerned. 

"Are they mad at each other?" he wondered, and Miyako also looked confused. 

"No, no, this is normal," Hikari replied. She sighed again. "I don't understand it either, but every so often they just have to beat each other up." 

"Sort of like how you two need to argue," Ken noted. 

"We wouldn't need to argue if Daisuke didn't cheat," Miyako replied. 

"I didn't cheat!" Daisuke countered. "You lost." 

"Enough!" Hikari announced loudly, and the exasperation in her voice was enough to make them stop arguing. 

"Let's watch," Ken suggested to keep the peace, and headed for the crowd of digimon watching the fight. 

By this time the duel had been going on for quite some time. The original group of Tentomon, Patamon, Agumon, Gomamon, and Gabumon had been expanded to include Tailmon, Armadimon, Palmon, Wormmon, and V-mon. As more digimon observed, their partners had decided to watch as well, so now Iori, Jyou, Takeru, and Mimi were watching, as well as quite a few people that had been helping to decorate the main hall. Also present were Momoe, Jun, and their partners, Terriermon and Alraumon. 

Both the combatants were exhausted by this time, but neither relented. Sweat poured down both boys' foreheads, and the swings of the sword were a bit slower.

"Aren't they exhausted?" Miyako wondered. 

"Most likely," Iori agreed. "But they're not going to stop." 

"Why not?" Daisuke questioned. 

"It's a matter of _principle,_" Takeru replied with some sarcasm. "Their friendship has some element of competition involved. Each has to prove they're the best." 

"They'll be here for ages," Hikari stated. "They always are." 

"They've been fighting for at least forty five minutes already," Tailmon stated. "It's usually just under an hour." 

"Man," Gomamon grumbled. "What will we do for amusement after that?" 

"Hey, how about another fight when they're done?" Daisuke suggested. He turned to Ken. "You and me?" 

Ken shook his head. "No, thanks." 

"Takeru?" 

"Me? You want to fight?"   
"Yeah. Finish what we didn't the other day." 

"Sure. You're on. And I'll beat you!"

"Ha! We'll see about that!" 

Hikari sighed. 

***

As it turned out the duel lasted another fifteen minutes before it collapsed into a punching match. At that point, Daisuke, Takeru, Jyou, and Iori chose to jump in and pull them apart. Then they shook hands, exchanged insults, and sat down to watch the next match. 

Daisuke and Takeru had a tradition of fencing matches, though not as intense as Yamato and Taichi's. A few days before, they had begun the latest in a long series of matches. Neither were exceptional fighters, and neither was gifted when it came to fencing. They were fairly evenly matched. 

This match began the way they always began. They picked up the swords the previous combatants had dropped and then circled around dramatically, as though sizing each other up. Then, without warning, both lunged at exactly the same time. 

Miyako blinked. "How did they - ?" 

Ken explained: "They've fought so many times before they always know exactly what the other will do. Even if Daisuke tries to pull a surprise move – see that? The way he suddenly lunged deeper? Takeru sees it coming and blocks it. Now Takeru swipes to the left, and Daisuke dodges. It's like they're always fighting the same fight." 

"That must get boring after a time," Miyako noted. 

"Only to watch," he replied. "I don't think they're even aware of it. They just think they're really good." 

For one who had not seen them battle before, however, the fight was astonishingly  well choreographed. Each time Takeru attacked, Daisuke was able to defend. Each time Daisuke attacked, Takeru defended. The swords clanked rhythmically as they appeared to dance around in circles. 

Suddenly, Daisuke pulled another of what Ken had described as his surprise moves. He swung at the left as though about to attack, and then pulled back, moved quickly to the right, and swung from that side. Expecting the attack from the left, Takeru moved to block, and then quickly realized it had been a fake. He moved to block his right side, but wasn't fast enough. 

A slight trickle of blood appeared on his right shoulder. 

"Ha!" Daisuke shouted triumphantly. Takeru frowned. 

"I'm not done yet!" he shouted in response, and lunged violently at his opponent. Daisuke only just barely managed to back away in time. 

"Shouldn't he stop now?" Miyako wondered. 

"Probably," Ken replied. "But now he's out for revenge." 

"It's pretty amazing, actually," Yamato noted from nearby. "That's the first time either of them has managed to score a hit." 

"First time _ever_?" Miyako repeated. "Wow." 

"They've been doing this for a long time," Taichi reminded her. "Most of the time they don't even _try_ to hit each other."

The battle continued violently, the swords flashing brightly in the moonlight. Miyako felt she should cheer for one of the combatants, but wasn't certain which. Most of the crowd had the same dilemma, and cheered for both. 

Yamato and Jun cheered for their younger brothers, and made something of their own competition out of trying to out-shout each other. If either Daisuke or Takeru noticed, they didn't show it. 

Hikari sighed for the umpteenth time that night and thought to herself that there were probably better ways of working through stress, and that they'd be better prepared for the upcoming battles if they decided to sleep. 

Eventually, Takeru's exhaustion showed, and his feet fumbled. He tripped over his own feet and landed on the ground. Daisuke laughed, helped him up, and both shook hands. 

"Amazing!" Taichi shouted with some astonishment. "On the nine hundred and seventy-third fight, he finally scores a hit!" He was exaggerating, of course, but not by much, and no one seemed to mind. He was cheering for Daisuke merely because it would irk Yamato, who had been cheering for his brother. Since Hikari declined to participate in such fights, he had to improvise. 

"Ha! I begin my victorious streak! Who's next?" Daisuke cheered. 

"You couldn't beat me," Taichi replied with some slight animosity towards his supposed protégé. "That is if I wasn't already tired." He knew that even though Daisuke had just finished an exhausting fight, there would be no hope for him to have a chance against the energetic younger boy. 

"He overestimates himself," Takeru agreed without resentment. "Just because I trip he thinks he's the best." There was no ire in his voice. In fact, he grinned.

"You're just jealous because you lack my supreme skills," Daisuke replied, and there was genuine pride in his voice. 

Ken got into the insults game now, a snort his response. "You don't have supreme skills," he replied. "You were lucky." 

"Luck, skills, whichever. I still won." The victor was not eager to relinquish his title because of a minor technical difficulty. "You think you have better? Try me." 

"I think I will." The response was quiet, and Daisuke nearly overlooked it, returning to his gloating, before he stopped and blinked, reassessing what he had heard. 

"You – will?" he asked, eyes growing wide and somewhat astonished. Ken had never agreed to such ritualistic fights before. Never against Daisuke, that is. 

The other shrugged slightly, as though his statement was nothing out of the ordinary. "Why not?" he said, attempting to make a casual statement. The lightness of his voice fooled none of the spectators, however. The crowd was silent, sensing that something Big or Important was going to happen. 

Even Miyako, who was unable to comprehend precisely why, felt as though the air was crackling with some sort of sparks. She shuddered inwardly as she watched the two latest combatants clash swords. Curiously, she glanced towards Hikari. 

"Hikari?" she wondered. The Princess had wide eyes, too. "What's wrong?" 

"Something weird is happening, Miyako," she noted. "Do you feel it?" 

Miyako glanced back at the competition. "I think so…"

There was complete silence now as the fight continued. The strange atmosphere that hung in the air appeared to be felt by everyone now, and the spectators were enthralled. 

Both fighters were oblivious, however, as they were lost in their own worlds. Their eyes never wavered from the others', and their swords moved, clashing equally. 

Yamato let out a low whistle between his teeth. "Does he know what he's getting in to?" he wondered. 

"Who?" Takeru wondered with some confusion, tearing his eyes from the fight for a moment. 

"Daisuke," Taichi agreed. "He doesn't, I don't think." 

"What do you mean?" Iori now questioned, turning to the older boys as well. 

Yamato shook his head, waving both questions aside with his hand. "You wouldn't understand." 

"Why not?" Takeru asked.

"You just wouldn't." 

Takeru frowned, but turned his eyes, momentarily, back to the fight. "What is he getting in to?" 

"Something serious," Taichi replied, just as mysteriously as Yamato.

"What?" 

"Just something, Takeru. Drop it," Yamato half-ordered, his voice impatient now. "Just watch." 

Takeru frowned even more deeply, but didn't respond. Instead, he turned back to the fight, trying to figure out what exactly his brother had been talking about. 

The two opponents paid no attention to the conversation – or lack thereof – around them.  Daisuke had a strange serious – almost bloodthirsty glint in his eyes that sent a shiver down Miyako's spine. She glanced to Hikari to see if she had noticed. 

Hikari had most definitely noticed. Her eyes were focused entirely on the boy in question. 

Miyako wanted to turn away, to not watch anymore, but she turned back to the contest. Both boys now had that bloodthirsty glint in their eyes. _'Daisuke must know this isn't just fun…both of them must know…but why?'_

The question was, for the moment, unanswerable, so she turned her thoughts to another question that was important – who was winning. 

That, at least was answerable. Daisuke was definitely on the defensive, so it appeared, at least, that Ken was winning. But he wasn't, exactly, because, a moment later, Daisuke was on the offensive. With her eyes glued to the competition, Miyako had no choice but to analyze each and every blow. They switched back and forth between who appeared to be winning and who appeared to be loosing so often and quickly that it was impossible to determine who the true victor would be. 

When the opponents of a match are as evenly matched as these two combatants were, there was only one way to end the fight. And that was with one of them making a mistake. In this case, since Daisuke was a bit more tired, it was his turn to mess up. 

And he did – in exactly the same way Takeru had. By slipping and falling promptly on the ground. His sword fell from his hand and landed a few feet from him. He rolled over, trying to reach it before his opponent could stop him, but found a sword at his neck. 

"Damn," he muttered slightly, and started to get up, conceding his defeat. But the sword didn't move. "Ken?" 

Daisuke turned and looked up at the boy who had defeated him. "All right. You win," he said, with a grin. But Ken _wasn't_ smiling.

***

Well, I promised foreshadowing, didn't I? Hope that's enough for ya. And sorry about the sloppily written fencing scenes. I want to add excitement, but I know almost zilch about fighting this way, so that's why they seem as though I don't know what I'm talking about. Apologies to anyone who has real knowledge of this; I admit my ignorance!

Well, those were the fights I promised you. In the next part, the plot actually advances, and the group heads off to fight the Enemy! Wow! About time! Sora will eventually return, I promise, and there will be a Big Reunion, but there will also be a Big Split. The foreshadowing here may clue you in, but I can't say any more than that! 

Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews, I appreciate all the feedback I get on this! C-ya next chapter! ^_^


	9. Part Nine: The Troubles Begin

The Reign of Courage

Part Nine:  The Troubles Begin

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon does _not_ belong to me. That includes all characters, digimon, and any such articles…crests, digimentals, etc. 

***

The next morning before the sun was completely risen, the group of eleven children set out for Infinity Mountain. Although, perhaps, to call them children would be a bit premature…

At any rate, eleven people and eleven digimon headed for Infinity Mountain in the pre-dawn light. 

Mimi was tired. She had been up late the night before, unable to sleep, and therefore had focused on completing some of the last minute preparations for the party that was to take place as soon as they returned. She trudged along, her feet dragging slightly on the ground. Palmon, too, appeared tired, though slightly less so than her partner. 

Jyou was a bit more awake. He'd stayed up watching the entertainment the night before, but then had managed to turn in early, despite his own worries and insecurities for the day to come. He munched a roll as he walked which served as his breakfast, and fed another to Gomamon, riding on his shoulder. 

Koushiro, as usual, had his nose in one of his recent literary acquisitions. This book was a list of ancient prophecies regarding Digimon and their relations with humans. Tentomon flew behind, calling warnings whenever it appeared his partner was about to trip or veer off course. 

Iori had managed to sleep as much as was necessary to be awake, although the early awakening left him tired, too. He carried his traditional Kendo stick in one arm, and a bag of supplies in the other. Armadimon followed behind him, and both appeared focused on the task at hand. 

Takeru now sported a white bandage on his right shoulder, the only visible sign of the fight that had waged the night before. Patamon and he were fully awake, but lost in thought. The boy was still concerned about what Yamato had spoken of the evening before, and was also concerned about the coming battle. 

Hikari walked beside Takeru, for some reason feeling a bit of safety despite the boy's confused nature. She, too, was lost in thought, and so no conversation resulted between them. Occasionally, she would glance back at the others following behind her, but she said nothing. Tailmon appeared to be confident about the coming battle, and showed none of her partner's obvious insecurities. 

Miyako walked just behind Hikari and Takeru, lost in her own thoughts as well. She appeared to be in careful study of the ground beneath her, but her thoughts lie with the previous evening. 

She glanced at Ken and then at Daisuke, who were both walking behind her. Each and every one of the chosen was lost in his or her own thoughts, and they were of no exception. 

_'It was so…_strange_…what happened last night. And yet, neither of them is talking about it. I wonder what it was?'_

Naturally, it had occurred to her that they simply felt as awkward about it as she and Hikari both did. And that would account for some of it. But it still didn't answer the question of exactly _what_ had taken place. And then she felt guilty. She was supposed to be concerned with rescuing Sora – not with whatever was taking place here and now…

"Now's a good time to stop for breakfast," Yamato noted suddenly, breaking everyone out of their own personal thoughts.

"We should keep going. We've got a long way to go," Taichi replied, not slowing his steps at all. 

"We'll still get there even if we stop for a bit." Yamato stopped in his tracks. 

The other boy took a few more steps, and then stopped and turned around. "We've only been walking for a half-hour. We can go a little more." 

"Actually, I'm kind of hungry," Mimi volunteered, raising a hand. 

"So am I," Agumon confessed. 

Taichi sighed. "All right. Breakfast then." He knew better than to start an argument if he expected to get where they wanted to go before midnight. 

As soon as the words had left his mouth, the others began to set up for the meal. Yamato and Daisuke began to bring wood for a fire, Iori and Jyou began filling the metal pails they'd brought with water from a nearby stream. Miyako and Hikari had been elected to carry the meat and eggs for the food, and they began to unpack them so that they would be able to be cooked when the fire was ready. Mimi, Ken, and Taichi began to unroll the blankets they had brought for sitting in, and Koushiro and Takeru were elected for the task of unloading the plates. 

A good twenty minutes later, and the food was served. Everyone ate in relative silence. Then, a quick cleanup and they were walking again. 

Taichi peered at the map in his hands. "It shouldn't be too much farther," he determined. 

Iori stood beside him, peering at the same map. "Just past the Koromon village, I think." 

"Deserted Koromon village, you mean," Armadimon corrected. 

"That's what the sign says," Jyou observed from behind them. Taichi stopped walking and looked to where the doctor stood, pointing out the sign. 

"Actually, the sign doesn't say it's deserted," Gomamon corrected. 

"They didn't update the sign then," Takeru observed. 

"Maybe we should," Patamon proposed. 

"How?" 

"Like this!" Mimi poked Koushiro in the shoulder. "Have any ink?" 

"Um, yes, I think so." The wizard rummaged around in his sack for a moment before he located a jar of black ink. 

"Then we just need a stick," Palmon mused. She glanced around the ground for a few moments and then located one on the ground and handed it to her partner. 

Mimi opened the jar and dipped the stick in. A moment later she had scratched the word "DESERTED" over the sign marking the Koromon village. 

"Kind of ominous, isn't it?" Miyako noted. 

"Well, at least everyone will know there's no one there now," Hawkmon stated. 

"Whatever." Taichi sighed. "We've got to get going, come on!" He marched forward, paying no attention to the sign. A moment later, the others followed him, leaving the piece of wood with markings on it behind. 

***

The moment they had entered the Koromon village, the true meaning of the word deserted became evident. Only a few small huts remained, scattering the landscape. The straw which had once formed the roof of the huts was burnt, dead, and in some cases still smoking. 

"Whatever scared off all the Koromon didn't leave long ago," Ken observed. 

"So it's a recently deserted village?" Miyako questioned. "I hope that doesn't mean whoever destroyed it isn't still here." 

Before anyone could respond, there was a loud rumbling sound and the ground began to shake. 

"Earthquake!" Daisuke shouted, and flung himself to the ground, covering his head. It wasn't long before the others followed suit. The quake lasted a few moments before then a crack began to appear in the ground. 

"What the – " Yamato shouted, but his words were drowned out by the loud rumbling sound. He struggled to regain his feet, but was unable due to the continuous shaking. A huge amount of dust rose to the air, and it suddenly became nearly impossible to see. 

When finally the dust had cleared, the holder of the crest of Friendship rubbed his eyes and coughed. "Takeru?" he called, searching for his brother. "Taichi? Gabumon?" 

"Right here, Yamato," his partner digimon replied from the ground beside him. "What happened?" 

"I'd say an earthquake," the other replied. "Somehow we got separated. Hello? Anyone here?" he called again.  

"Yamato?" Mimi questioned, emerging from the smoky dust nearby with Palmon. She, too, was coughing. "What happened?" 

"An earthquake, we think," Gabumon answered. "We've got to find the others." 

Mimi nodded in agreement. "I wish we could get rid of this dust," she complained. "It's so hard to see." 

As if in response to her comment, a large digimon suddenly appeared in the dust. It appeared to be a white colored animal with four legs and wings. A metal mask was over its face and a horn protruded from its nose. 

"Unimon?" Gabumon questioned. 

Said Unimon did not answer. Instead it reared up on to its back legs and screamed a sort of war cry. Then it began to charge. 

"Augh!" Yamato dived out of the way just in time. "What's he got against us?" 

"You are chosen. You must die!" the Unimon finally replied, though that statement didn't answer much. Its eyes were glowing red. 

"Didn't those Lopmon say that Devimon had the power to make digimon battle against their will?" Gabumon wondered. "This could be one of them." 

 "But if it is, then we'd be fighting – maybe killing – an innocent digimon," Mimi protested. 

"It's either kill or be killed," Yamato replied. "Let's get him, Gabumon." 

"Right. Gabumon evolve! Garurumon!" 

Yamato blinked in surprise as the small blue and white striped digimon transformed next to him. "Wow. I didn't expect it to be so easy." 

"Evolving gets easier with practice," the giant wolf-like creature replied with a strange grin. 

The blonde nodded in comprehension. "Get him!" he repeated.

"Fox Fire!"  Garurumon shouted, and blue-colored flames flew from his mouth. 

"Augh!" Unimon shouted, not expecting a retaliation. It flew into the air and then dived at the Garurumon, who managed to dive out of the way just in time. Then the Unimon flew in the opposite direction, back into the sky to escape another attack. 

"What's that?" Mimi wondered. 

"What's what?" Palmon asked. 

"That black thing in his back. It looks like it hurts." 

"Maybe that's why he's so mad," the plant digimon suggested with a slight shrug. 

"Maybe," Mimi agreed. "Yamato! See if you can get rid of that thing on his back! Maybe then he won't be quite so mad." 

Yamato turned to her in confusion, and then looked at the Unimon. "A gear," he nodded, getting a better look at it than she had. "Garurumon! See if you can destroy that gear!" 

"I'll try," Garurumon shouted in response. "Fox Fire!" '

His attack, however, managed to miss the Unimon by a fraction of an inch. The Unimon prepared to charge again. 

"Palmon, let's help him out," Mimi decided. 

"Yea! Palmon evolve! Togemon!"  A moment later, the small plant was replaced with a larger plant covered in spines and wearing red gloves. 

"We've got to get him from behind!" Garurumon shouted. 

"I'll distract him!" Togemon replied. "You get him from behind. Hey, dummy! Over here!"

The Unimon,  too annoyed by the insults to realize it was walking into a trap, charged Togemon. 

"Prickly Bang Bang!" Togemon shouted, needles spraying out to cover the Unimon, which shouted in pain from the direct hit. 

"I've got it! Fox Fire!" Garurumon shouted, firing his own attack, which quickly destroyed the black gear protruding from the enemy. It then deleted, disintegrating and floating off into the air. 

"What - ?" the Unimon asked, confused. It landed beside Togemon. "Where am I?" 

*

Coughing, Koushiro pushed himself to his feet. Dust was all around him, even, he suspected, in his lungs and therefore hampering his ability to breathe. "Tentomon?" 

"Right here," the small red bug replied, fluttering beside him in the thick dust. 

"That was some earthquake," Koushiro observed. He gathered his bag again and peered through the thick smoke. "What happened to the others?" 

"I don't know," Tentomon replied. "They must be around here somewhere." The small wizard could hear the doubt in his voice. 

"Yeah, somewhere," Koushiro frowned. He pulled his digivice from his pocket, but it returned only a blank screen. "Terrific." 

"You think the dust is hampering its ability to function?" Tentomon theorized. Koushiro nodded.   
"Probably," he replied, frowning deeper. "Wait, I'm getting something. Two dots. One coming from the left, one from directly in front of us." 

"Hello?" A voice called from the left. "Koushiro? Is that you?" 

"Hell Jyou," Koushiro called back, and a moment later the doctor and Gomamon appeared in the clearing, emerging from the smoke. "Have you seen anyone else?" 

Jyou shook his head. "No," he replied. "Just Gomamon and you two." 

"Someone else is up ahead," Tentomon filled them in. 

"We should probably try to get to them, then," Gomamon decided. He began to flop in the indicated direction. A moment later, the others followed. 

"Mega Flame!" Greymon called, and a moment later, a ball of fire hit the ground, sending up even more dust. 

"Scissor Arms!" A giant red bug that Koushiro quickly identified as Kuwagamon flew in, waving large pincers that protruded from his face. 

"You'll have to do better than that, little boy Prince!" a digimon that appeared to be a giant monkey shouted from atop a nearby hill. He laughed eagerly. 

"Hey, this isn't your area. Devimon rules _this_ land!" A green, somewhat ugly digimon shouted. "Bone Club!" It leapt into the air and swung a large club at the monkey. 

"Heh, not so fast, Ogremon," a Gazimon replied, stepping between the monkey and the green digimon. "Etemon plans to take over this area, and he's stronger than you, so get lost!" 

"Actually, this area belongs to neither of you!" Greymon interrupted. "Mega Flame!"

The giant fireball caused the Gazimon and Ogremon to run quickly away, but Etemon stood his ground and was barely singed by the fireball. "Try this one, fans!" he shouted instead. "Love Serenade!" With that, the giant monkey began to sing. The loud, off-key singing created sound waves. Taichi squinted and put his fingers in his ears. 

"That's horrible!" he noted when the monkey had finally silenced again. "If you sing that to someone, they won't fall in love, they'll run away!" 

"Hey, who asked for your opinion, Prince-boy?" Etemon taunted. 

"Most likely the same person who asked for yours," Koushiro replied dryly. "Though he has a point. Kabuterimon?" 

"Mega Shocker!" A giant blue digimon shouted from somewhere behind the monkey. 

"Augh!" Etemon shouted, in some sort of pain from the surprise attack. 

"Want some more? Harpoon Vulcan!" A giant white, hairy digimon attacked from another direction. 

"That's it Ikkakumon! Get him!" Jyou called from somewhere behind his partner. 

Before Etemon could respond to either of these attacks, a dark shape appeared somewhere above them. 

_"You are useless to me. A nuisance and a menace. Be gone. Death Claw!" _

The singing monkey barely had time to respond before it was deleted.

"Hey!" Taichi shouted. "Just who are you?" 

His only response was a deep mocking laughter that surrounded him. 

*

"Whoa," Takeru groaned, rising to his feet. "What happened?" 

"I don't know," Patamon admitted, taking to the air and flying a few feet over his partner's head. "I don't see anyone."

"It's really dusty," he noted, coughing a few times. "Hey, wait, my digivice." He removed it from his pocket and saw that, as expected, a blinking dot was on the screen, only a short distance away. 

"Only one?" the flying digimon questioned. "What happened to everyone else?" 

"I don't know," Takeru replied. "I guess we find one and maybe we'll find everyone else after that." He turned and began walking, but they saw no one, human or digimon. 

"It's really quiet," Patamon observed. "Too quiet. I hope everyone's all right." 

"Me, too." Takeru agreed, but said nothing more. 

After a few minutes of walking, they came upon a small stone building. "I know I didn't see this in the Koromon village," Patamon stated. 

"I didn't either," Takeru agreed. "I wonder where it came from. Should we go in?" 

"Do you have anything else planned?" 

"No," he admitted, and began to walk around the building, searching for an entrance. There didn't appear to be one. 

"How can there not be a door?" Patamon wondered, thoroughly confused. Takeru shrugged. He sighed, feeling useless and lost, and sank to the ground beside the building. 

"I wish I could do _something_," he sighed. "I feel so…"

"Takeru, don't give up now!" Patamon scolded his partner before he could begin his self-depreciation. "We can help, I _know_ we can!" 

The boy shook his head and peered at his digivice. "Whoever's around here is in that building, I'm sure of it." He frowned and sighed deeply. "I just hope the others are able to get Sora back – what?" 

Suddenly, the wall behind him was glowing. "What's that?" Patamon wondered. Then they both noted a symbol that appeared on the side of the wall. "A crest!" 

"Crest? For me?" Takeru stared. "But I don't even have a tag!" 

His partner shrugged. "Maybe that doesn't matter." 

"I guess not," the boy observed as the crest shrank to a size just small enough to fit into a tag. It floated into his palm. 

***

"Yah! Help!" Miyako gripped the side of the rocks with both hands, but she could feel her fingers slipping. "Hawkmon – do something!"   
"I don't know what to do," the bird admitted with some trepidation. "Oh, wait," he sounded more relieved now. "Daisuke's coming this way. Maybe he can help." 

"Yeah, get him!" Miyako shouted, desperate now. "Daisuke!!"

The boy in question was at her side a moment later, gripping her wrists and using all of his available strength to pull the girl to safety. "What happened?" he asked, breathing heavily. 

"I don't know," she admitted. "I was standing here one moment, the earth started shaking, and then I was hanging on for dear life the next moment! What happened to everyone? Where'd the dust come from? And what caused that earthquake?" 

Daisuke shrugged. "I didn't see anyone else except you," he reported, holding out his digivice, which registered only two dots – himself and Miyako. 

"Same here," Miyako observed. "Hey – wait, there's another dot. But this one's blinking…"

"Well, there's only one thing to do," Daisuke decided with a grin. "Let's follow it."

***

Takeru held the newly-found crest in his hand and peered at the strange glowing symbol. It appeared to resemble a sun, a shooting star, or perhaps a medal. "Which crest is it?" he wondered. But he didn't have time to wonder for long, because now there was an entrance to the nameless building. He put the crest in his pocket and entered.

"Hello?" Patamon called, peering into the darkness. "Anyone home?" 

"Who goes there?" A voice called from the darkness of the building. Takeru squinted and was able to make out the form of a strangely shaped digimon. Its body was a small metal container, with long metal arms that protruded from it. Two beady little eyes stared back at him. The head was encased within a clear glass tube, and it appeared to be merely a mass of spongy pink material. 

"I do," Takeru replied, not thinking to mention who he was. "Who are you?" 

"_I_ am Nanomon," the digimon replied. It didn't appear to have much of a mouth, yet it spoke as easily as anything else. "And you have interrupted classified experiments. How did you get in here, anyway?" 

"The wall – opened," Takeru began, but realized quickly that he wouldn't be able to make his explanation believable. "I don't mean to interrupt, but you see, I'm looking for a friend." 

"If you could open the door, you probably work for Etemon," Nanomon decided. "I didn't know he had any human forces, but I guess they come in handy, at any rate. If you do work for Etemon, I'll have to destroy you." 

"What? Who's Etemon? I don't work for anyone. Like I said, I'm looking for someone, there's no need to destroy me!" the boy protested. 

"It's true, we don't even know who Etemon is," Patamon agreed. 

"Oh, well, then I guess you'll be all right," Nanomon appeared to relent somewhat. "Etemon and I have a – rivalry of sorts going back many years. He imprisoned me in this building after we battled last. I have been secretly repairing myself while locked in here, however, and through honing my magic, was able to obtain limited contact with the outside world." 

"What sort of limited contact?" Takeru was curious. 

"I can see some of what's going on," the digimon explained. "For example, up on the hill, there is – or was – a large digimon by the name of Devimon. He managed to kidnap one of those chosen, and I saved up enough of my energy to bring her here." 

"Sora's here?" Patamon repeated. "Where?" 

"Ha! So you are with the enemy!"

***

Hikari shook her head lightly to clear the stars. "Ouch," she muttered slightly. "That was some fall." She peered at the cliff that had somehow appeared to her left. 

"What happened?" Tailmon wondered, rubbing her head slightly.

"Earthquake, I guess," the girl answered. "But what happened to everyone else? And where'd all this dust come from?" 

Before her partner could respond, she was interrupted by the sound of coughing and a crunching noise coming from nearby. "Hello?" someone called. 

"Ken! Oh, good, at least someone's alive," Hikari greeted. "Have you seen anyone else?" 

The boy shook his head as he emerged into the clearing. "I can barely see Wormmon, and he's right here," he replied. "This dust is too thick." 

Before anyone could reply to that statement, a loud roar came from the opposite direction. "The Chosen must Die!" a deep voice shouted gruffly, and the next moment, Hikari and Ken found themselves staring at a giant feline digimon which was holding a sword.    
"Leomon!" Tailmon gasped. 

"We'd better get out of here," Hikari decided. She took a few steps backward. 

"We won't be able to outrun him," Ken noted with obvious fear in his voice. 

"Maybe we can slow him down," Wormmon decided, taking the initiative. "Sticky net!" 

"Diamond Shell!" A small round golden colored object crashed into feline's feet, only to unroll a moment later. "I'm dizzy," Armadimon complained, holding his head with one claw.  

"Iori!" Hikari shouted a warning as Leomon turned to face the smallest Chosen. 

"Not so fast! Sticky net!" Wormmon had reached the top of a nearby tree and threw his net down from the higher branches. 

"Run!" Ken shouted as loud as his lungs would allow, and a few moments later they had taken advantage of the distraction, as all three humans and their digimon dashed away. 

***

"A cave. In the middle of nowhere." Miyako sighed. "And, wouldn't you know, whatever I'm looking for is right inside!"

"Well, I guess we go in then," Hawkmon stated.

Daisuke shrugged and entered the cave. Despite the nature of the cave, there was enough light to see by. He followed a corridor, ducking slightly to avoid the low ceiling. "What would be in here?" he wondered. 

"Maybe another digimental," V-mon suggested. 

"Digimental?" Miyako paused. "Really? You think so?"

"Only one way to find out," Hawkmon replied pragmatically. "Find what ever it is we're looking for." He walked past his partner, in something of a hurry. 

A few feet further and there, indeed, was the digimental. Exactly as the previous digimental, this one was placed on a raised platform with a sign posted in front of it. Miyako, with some amount of nervousness, peered at the sign. "Digimental Aijou. Aijou?"

"Love?" Daisuke's eyes were slightly wide. "Whoa. That's a tough one." 

"I'll say," V-mon muttered under his breath. 

"Well, are you going to pick it up?" Hawkmon questioned with a slightly impatient tone. 

"I – I don't know," Miyako admitted. "How am I supposed to make the digimental of _love_ work?" 

Hawkmon shrugged. "There are many different types of love," he reminded his partner. "Love for friends, love for family, love for good food." He coughed. "I'm sure any of those would suffice."

"All right, then, I guess I don't have anything to lose." Miyako took a deep breath and removed the digimental with ease. "Hmm. That was easy." 

Daisuke grinned. "Yup. Now, let's go see if we can't find the others." 

***

Iori was doing his best to run as quickly as he could, but the youngest of the Chosen was not trained for neither speed nor stamina when it came to this activity, and he soon found himself lagging behind. He glanced behind him quickly as he ran behind Ken and Hikari. The feline Leomon was getting closer and closer. He could almost feel the large digimon's breath on his back, could imagine those fierce claws reaching down and scratching him, causing any number of pains.

The small boy groaned as he fell to the ground, his legs having inadvertently tripped over a rock that had been lodged in the ground while his eyes were watching his pursuer. Quickly, he rolled over on to his back and drew his legs and arms in front of him, hoping that he could offer some sort of defense. 

Leomon prepared to attack, but was interrupted by a squealing sound. Iori's digivice, clipped securely at his waist, was emitting a bright light and a loud, high pitched squeal. As if in pain, the large digimon covered his eyes and ears and stepped back, groaning aloud in pain. 

Alerted by the noise, Hikari and Ken had turned in their steps and were prepared to jump in and intervene in what they assumed would be a massacre of the smaller boy. Surely he had no chance against a larger and more powerful digimon. And an adult digimon at that! With sharp claws, and teeth, and muscles!

But they needn't have worried, they saw, for somehow, with the simple aid of a digivice, the boy was managing to inflict actual pain on the fierce monster. It was Hikari who, in the stunned silence, realized what was happening and vocalized it. 

"The digivice! It hurts him!" 

"Well then, use it!" Tailmon declared vehemently. Hikari nodded determinedly and raised her own digivice, stepping forward. The light created by the digivices grew more intense, and Leomon appeared to be in even more pain. He fell to his knees and shouted out. 

Some sort of black shadow appeared to seep from his back. 

Ken needed no words to announce his own presence, being fully aware that anything he said would be not only redundant, but obvious. So he simply stepped forward and raised his own digivice, which then worked in harmony with the other two to cause their opponent to be in even more pain. 

The third digivice appeared to be what did the trick after all. The black cloud that had been seeping from Leomon's back grew greater and then dissipated. The lion lost the red-eye glaze that had been clouding his vision, and the digivices stopped squealing with such vengeance. Hikari and Ken lowered them and waited for the response from their opponent. Would he attack? Was the darkness that had apparently been polluting him completely gone? Was he therefore friendly now? 

They would, apparently, never know, because Leomon's only responses were to groan, holding his head in pain, and then stare at the three youngsters that stared back at him. There was an awkward moment as he surveyed each of them, and then he was gone as quickly as he had arrived, disappearing into the dust. 

"Wait!" Hikari called, but the dust cloud swallowed her cry, and there was an eerie silence afterward. 

"That was strange," Tailmon noted as Ken helped Iori to his feet. 

"Hmm," the boy noted. "I didn't know our digivices could harm them." 

Wormmon spoke up. "Those Lopmon that we met said that Devimon, or whoever this evil was, could make digimon fight for him against their will. I think he used that darkness to control them, and the digivices somehow got rid of it." 

Hikari nodded. "I think so, too, but I wonder…" She was silent for a few moments. 

"Wonder what?" Ken asked, interested now. 

"I wonder why he ran off. If he was on our side, then he would have…he would have stuck around and tried to help us. But he didn't. I wonder why." 

***

For the record, I won't tell you about Ken's evil status as yet. You'll have to wait for that. ^_^

Finally, I get into the actual battle part. There's still some logistical details I need to work out in this – like exactly when they fight who and what happens, but I've almost got a plan for the ending! Wow! It won't come for a while, though. 

Why did I include Etemon (and destroy him) in this part? Well, for time, really. I could draw out the whole Nanomon-Etemon crisis and everything, but then this story would be about eighty years long. Besides I need to finish this story arc with Devimon (and the evil dude that comes after) before I start the next sequel. 

Anyone have any guesses as to who the main enemy will be in the next story? I'm hoping it's not that obvious. Anyway, thanks, loyal reviewers, for all the kind comments. Stay tuned, cuz this one's not over yet! ^_^


	10. Part Ten: Evolution, Danger, and More Fi...

The Reign of Courage

Part Ten: Evolution, Danger, and More Fights

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon, related characters and etc do not belong to me. I make no money from this story. The plot, however, is mine, and it'd be nice if you remembered that! 

***

Miyako emerged from the cave to see a large green digimon holding a club peering at her with beady eyes. She screamed, more in surprise than fear, and stepped a few feet back. Daisuke, emerging from the cave behind her, only sighed and shook his head when he saw Ogremon. 

"You again?" he demanded. "We already did the fight and run away thing, remember?" 

Ogremon merely growled, a vicious snarl on his face. V-mon tugged on his partner's leg. "Daisuke – I don't think that's the same Ogremon." 

"You may be right about that," the boy admitted. This Ogremon did appear to have more motivation and less fear.

"He's absolutely right," the Ogremon snarled, its first words. "Bone Club!" With that attack, it leaped high into the air and raised its club in the air. 

"Ha! It's not that easy!" Daisuke replied. "V-mon! Digimental Up!" 

"Right! V-mon armor evolve! Fladramon!" Quickly, the tall blue digimon dived out of the way of the Ogremon's attack. Daisuke, Miyako, and Hawkmon quickly dodged the flying green creature as well. 

"Don't think I'm the only thing you have to worry about," Ogremon shouted gruffly as it leapt into the air again. "Bone Club!" 

"You're not a worry, you're an annoyance," Fladramon taunted in reply. "Fire Rocket!"

"He's right, though," Hawkmon observed, looking up as an Airdramon flew into view overhead. 

"Spinning Needle!" it shouted, which those on the ground were forced to dodge as well.

"Well, now I've got the chance to do something about these darn Airdramon!" Miyako decided. "Hawkmon! Digimental Up!" She raised the strange egg-shaped digimental she'd recently pulled from the ground into the air.

"My pleasure," her partner replied. "Hawkmon armor evolve! Holsmon!" 

Miyako watched with triumphant surprise as Hawkmon grew more than twice his normal size and was replace by a four-footed bird with a metallic helmet on the front of his beak. "Get him, Holsmon!" she shouted. Her digivice felt different in her hand, and when she looked down, she saw that it had strangely changed shape, so now it was shaped the way Daisuke's new digivice was. She barely had time to register this, however, for her attention was on the battle.

"Fear not! I'll deal with him!" the bird replied as it took to the air. Once he had, a ferocious air battle began. "Red Sun!" Holsmon called, as a red beam shot from his helmet. 

"Spinning Needle!" the Airdramon shouted in response, dodging the attack. 

"Fire Rocket!" Fladramon shouted from the tree branch he was perched on. 

"Augh!" Ogremon shouted, as the flames surrounded it. It didn't give up, however, quickly throwing itself on the ground and rolling in order to extinguish them. In a short amount of time, they were gone, however the ugly green digimon had wasted valuable time. As it had been fixing itself up, Fladramon had come closer without risk of attack. By the time Ogremon got to his feet again, the blue and red fiery digimon was standing right in front of him. 

"Knuckle Fire!" Fladramon called as he lodged a burning fist between the green ogre's eyes. 

Ogremon only groaned in response as he fell to the ground in pain.

"That takes care of him!" Daisuke cheered, grinning widely, and turned his attention to the battle raging over their heads. 

Despite the dust surrounding them, it was quite easy to see the battling flyers overhead. There were no trees in the area – the few that existed were half dead as though they had given up on life. There were no buildings, only a few rock formations that one was likely to stumble upon while walking through the thick dust. So the fight in the sky was less obscured than normal. 

"Tempest Wing!" Holsmon called, whirling himself into a massive tornado and then launching said whirlwind toward the massive Airdramon. The attack appeared to have little or no effect, however, and Holsmon was forced to abandon this method, instead reverting to his other attack. "Red Sun!" 

"Ha ha!" the Airdramon shouted, and though Miyako had never heard an Airdramon laugh before, it sent shivers down her spine. 

***

"I'm reading something on my digivice," Iori announced without preamble. "A blinking dot." 

Instantly, Hikari and Ken both observed their own devices. "I'm not getting it," Ken noted. 

"Me either," Hikari noted. "Should we investigate?"

"Couldn't hurt." 

***

Taichi looked around at the clearing. It was empty, now that Etemon had been deleted and the Ogremon and Gazimon had deserted. "What _was_ that voice?" he wondered. 

Before Jyou or Koushiro could offer up a theory, however, they were interrupted by a large explosion in the distance. "Might I suggest we figure out what that was first?" Koushiro questioned. 

Taichi nodded his agreement. "Definitely." He peered at Kabuterimon, who was hovering near his partner. "You can fly. Go ahead of us. We'll follow." He gestured to himself and Jyou.

Koushiro's only response was a nod. A moment later, he and his partner were gone. 

"It'll be easier if I'm smaller," Ikkakumon noted. "Faster, that is." A bright light surrounded him as he reverted to Gomamon. 

"You sure?" Jyou asked. "We might need you again." 

The small digimon shrugged as best was possible. "I'll be able to evolve again so long as I get something to eat." 

"Eat along the way," Taichi decided, climbing aboard Greymon and gesturing for the others to follow.

***

"Hey!" Takeru shouted, as he and Patamon narrowly avoided the strange digimon's attack. "I didn't do anything to you!"

"Ah, but indeed you did, little boy. You're a Chosen, and you're threatening to disrupt my experiments. That is a serious crime," Nanomon replied. He raised one of his spindly metal arms again. "Plug Bomb!" 

Takeru fell backwards, and Patamon flew upwards to avoid the explosion aimed at them. Half the side of the strange building was now gone, and a huge cloud of smoke extended upward into the dust-filled sky. "Isn't this kind of unfair?" Takeru attempted to reason with their attacker. 

"Mega Blaster!" a voice from the sky shouted, and Koushiro leapt from his partner to land in the dusty, hard ground beside Takeru.   
"It would be best to retreat," the wizard informed the boy, grabbing his arm. Numbly, Takeru was about to agree, and would have, if not for Patamon's sudden interjection. 

"But Sora's in there!" 

As expected, this_ did_ get Koushiro's attention. "Kabuterimon!" he called. "Change of plans! It appears he has our missing friend!"

"Right," the giant insect replied. "Mega Blaster!" 

"Plug Bomb!" Nanomon called, causing another wall of the building to crumble.

A moment later, another explosion joined the fight. "Mega Flame!" Greymon shouted, and added a giant fireball to the mix. The wooden roof of the stone building didn't have a chance – it burst into flames and disintegrated in seconds.

"Taichi!" Takeru shouted as loud as possible over the explosions and fire. "Sora!" 

The boy at the top of the giant dinosaur didn't have a hope of hearing his name over the sound, but somehow or another he was able to hear Sora's. He turned to Jyou, who was riding behind him. 

"Did he say Sora?" 

"I don't know," the doctor replied, appearing rather green in complexion. "I just want to get on solid ground. 

Taichi nodded. "Greymon! Let us down here!" 

A moment later, the two were safely on the ground. Jyou leaned against a tree, trying to fight down the nausea accompanied by motion sickness caused  by the rather bumpy ride upon Greymon's back. 

"That digimon – Nanomon – he said that he has Sora," Takeru explained to the wild-haired young man as he appeared. 

Taichi nodded once, to show he understood, and then ran in the direction of the building that was rapidly being demolished. "Wait!" Takeru called. "That building's not safe!" 

"Honestly, I don't believe he cares," Koushiro noted with a marked lack of serious concern. He appeared bemused as he watched the other disappear. Then his eyes caught another greenish-looking figure. "Jyou? Are you all right?" 

"No," Jyou replied, as he quickly dashed behind a tree. Gomamon shrugged helplessly as he watched his partner head off to empty his stomach of his recent lunch. 

"Eh, he's not made for travel, I guess," the small white-colored digimon stated, half-apologetically. 

***

"Ah, another cave. Does this sound familiar to you, Hikari?" Tailmon questioned. 

"Yes," the girl replied, a musing expression on her face. "It looks_ exactly _like the cave where Daisuke found his digimental." 

"A digimental?" For a moment the youngest chosen dropped the pretense that a child so often maintains when around others who are older. "For me?" His green eyes were noticeably larger for a moment, shining with the idea that he should get a prize so extraordinary. 

But then the pretense was gone, and the boy had returned to his serious air. At only thirteen years of age, he was still a child, still _only _a boy, even more than the others, but that didn't mean he wanted others to view him that way. "That would be most – beneficial," he said quickly then, covering up for what he perceived as a momentary loss of judgment.

_'Great,' _he thought, moving away from them as he followed his digivice into the cave, hardly noticing that neither of the others had elected to follow him. _'Now they've probably lost all respect for me. I wish I wasn't so _young_, then people wouldn't see me as so…different. I wouldn't be so much of a handicap.'_

Iori pushed all thoughts of self-pity to the back of his head. They would be pondered over later, during a time of rest, when he could meditate on this. He was wise enough to know, despite his age, that he needed to focus on the task at hand. 

At the end of the cave was a small raised platform of rock. Iori nodded when he recalled Daisuke's description of his own digimental. "Guess Hikari was right," he noted aloud, more to himself than to Armadimon, who was, as always, following behind him. 

Beyond the sign which was also apparent in what Iori recalled of the story, was a small yellowish-colored egg-shaped digimental ith purple markings on it. "What's the sign say?" he asked. 

"_Digimental Chishiki,"_ his partner read. "Knowledge. Like Koushiro's crest."

"Knowledge?" the boy repeated with some confusion. "I don't understand exactly how I deserve that." 

"Well, maybe you don't," Armadimon replied sagely. "But there's only one way to find out, and that's to try to lift it. The sign does say that only one worthy of it would be able to lift it." 

"True," Iori replied in agreement. "And I don't think my digivice would have alerted me to its location if I was unworthy either." He stepped up to the digimental, and gripped it with both hands. He was able to raise it from the rocks without much effort. "Well, it's mine, all right." 

Before Armadimon could respond – Iori suspected with some sort of an 'I told you so' attitude – there was another crashing, rumbling noise. "Another earthquake?" Armadimon questioned in disbelief.

"Let's get out of here!" Iori replied, not wishing to currently speculate on the cause of so many tremors. Hurriedly, he and his partner rushed for the cave's exit, but to no avail. 

Inches before they would have made their escape, rocks and boulders on the outside and inside of the cave were shaken loose, and the only way out of the cave was blocked. From outside, the boy could hear Hikari's shouts - of surprise, horror, worry - he knew not what. But when the shaking ended, there was no light, no exit, and no sound. 

***

Mimi sighed, frowning slightly as she and Yamato tried for the fifth time to locate an escape from the dusty clearing. "I really don't think this is working," she noted. 

"No, I don't think so either," Yamato sighed in agreement. He sank against a rather decrepit looking hollowed-out tree. "I hope Takeru's all right." 

The girl traveling with him didn't have a response to that statement, but she did shriek in surprise when the tree he was leaning on creaked and then disintegrated behind him. 

Yamato gave a surprised shout and grumbled under his breath about a useless tree. Mimi didn't quite hear all of his statement, but she did note that he used a few words that shouldn't have been used around her. Ordinarily, she would have said something about this, but, considering the circumstances and the boy's rather grumpy attitude at the moment, decided to remain silent for once. Instead, she offered him a hand to help him up. 

"Are you all right?" Gabumon questioned of his partner, whose irritable mood had just taken a turn for the worse. 

"Yeah, I think so," he replied grudgingly, dusting off his pants as he rose from the dust. "I'm not sticking around _here_ anymore," he decided with a frown. 

Before Mimi could respond, there was a loud explosion in the distance, and that settled the matter.

***

There was smoke, dust, fire, and all manner of explosions that surrounded Taichi as he made his way through the building. He hadn't a clue as to where he was going, but he knew that he had to at least _try_ to get Sora from the building before it was destroyed. 

He coughed a few times and covered his mouth with his hand. "Sora!" he called over the noise of the explosions, but quickly realized that would probably be about as effective as standing on his head. Suddenly, he became aware of a light penetrating the smog. 

"My crest…" he realized, looking down at his chest. As expected, the tag was glowing brightly, visible even under the fabric of his shirt. And somewhere in front of him was something else, glowing brightly. 

***

Iori tried _very hard_ not to cry. He wiped away the tears that came as a result of pain, and tried to ignore the others that crept up from his hopeless situation. In the dark, he could see nothing, but he called for his partner. 

"Armadimon?" 

"Right here, Iori," the golden-colored digimon's voice replied from somewhere nearby. "You all right?" 

Iori coughed, the constant cloud of dust having increased with the falling of the rocks, and now invading his lungs with a greater fierceness than before. "Yeah, just dusty. A few scratches, that's all. Do you know where my bag is?" 

"Not a clue. It should be around here somewhere, though. Why?" 

"I think I might have a lantern in there," he said, but paused in thought. "But I shouldn't use it."  

"Why not?" Armadimon's voice was closer now, and Iori guessed his partner was slowly making his way through the dark cave.

"The fire will use up the air," Iori explained. "And I get the feeling there isn't much in here." 

"Do you think the others will rescue us?" 

"I hope so," the boy replied. "But I don't think they can. There's so many rocks." He looked in the direction of the blocked entrance, but there was no sign of light or movement. He sighed deeply. 

There was a long moment of silence. Armadimon, having finally made his way to his partner's side, rested his head on the boy's leg.

Iori coughed again, raising his hands from where they rested on the ground and covering his mouth. When he set them down again, he felt something round under his left hand. He felt the smooth-shaped object for a moment before he realized what it was. 

"The digimental!" he exclaimed. Armadimon lifted his head in question. "Here's hoping you evolve something that can break through rocks. Digimental Up!" 

Iori shouted the last two words as loud as possible despite his aching lungs. A bright light appeared from his digivice, and the digimental evaporated from his hand. He could feel his digivice changing shape in his hands, and for a moment the bright light made it impossible to see. 

"Armadimon armor evolve! Digmon!" he heard behind the light and the squealing sound of his digivice. 

"Big Crack!" Digmon shouted, and though Iori couldn't see what he was doing precisely, he could hear rocks falling around him. The boy pulled his arms and legs close to him and tried to shield his head as best as possible. 

He needn't have worried, however, because a moment later he felt slightly fresher air fill his lungs, and a dim light filled the cave. A moment later, Digmon – who he saw now was a large digimon with a drill for a nose and of similar coloring as the digimental itself – was assisting him out of the cave, and then he felt human hands in assistance, as Ken and Hikari helped pull the boy through the hole his digimon had created. 

"Oh, thank heaven!" Hikari was saying over and over, and Iori was aware of little else beside this. Ken was talking about someplace to find water, but there didn't seem to be any in the area.

Before any decisions could be made, there was an explosion in the distance, and then, overhead, two large digimon flew past. One was an Airdramon, and the other a large brownish-red bird. 

And then, a few seconds later, a tall blue and red colored digimon dashed past at an equally fast speed, shouting to the bird overhead. 

Hikari fleetingly recognized the blue and red colored digimon as Fladramon, but before she had time to call out to him or even comment on the situation, he was gone, disappeared into the dust again. 

Iori (who was really not quite as badly off as Hikari had suspected) and Ken merely stared. It was Digmon who summed up the situation. "What the -?" 

"That was - ," Hikari began in an attempt to explain the situation, but at that point she was interrupted by shouts coming from the same direction the passers-by had come. A moment later, Daisuke and Miyako emerged from the dust cloud, out of breath. Neither noticed the others

"They don't – really need – us, do they?" Miyako gasped, out of breath from trying to run strenuously when surrounded by dust. 

Daisuke coughed loudly. "I hope not," he replied in a hoarse voice. "Hey! They're coming back this way!" 

They were indeed. The Airdramon came first, apparently one of its wings being damaged enough to force it to land. "Spinning needle!" it hissed, firing its attack back in the direction of Holsmon, who was coming near to landing as well. 

"Tempest Wing!" the bird called after dodging the attack, taking advantage of the Airdramon's weakness.

"Fire Rocket!" Fladramon was there a moment later, and the Airdramon cringed in pain. It slithered, twisting its long body and crashing its tail into Fladramon. Knocked head over feet, he de-evolved to V-mon and clutched his head. Horrified, Daisuke rushed heedlessly through the battlefield to assist his digimon.

"Gold Rush!" Digmon shouted, and the drills on the end of his nose flew off and attacked the Airdramon. Daisuke, astonished by the addition to the battle, turned back in the direction of the newcomer and noted Hikari, Iori, and Ken for the first time. 

"Tempest Wing!" Holsmon attacked again, but he was tiring. 

"Cat Punch!" Tailmon shouted, as her ferocious attack scratched the face of the Airdramon. Crying out in pain, it could take no more, and finally was deleted. 

***

"Koushiro!" a voice called from somewhere in the distance, and the young wizard glanced up to see that Yamato and Mimi were running out of the dust cloud and into the fight. 

"Watch out!" he called, and both newcomers dodged another explosion quickly. 

"What's going on here?" Yamato questioned, brushing dirt and rocks from his head. He and Mimi had already figured that the other digimon needed help in the battle, and so had sent Garurumon and Togemon to assist in whatever way they could. 

"Oh, just another battle, that's all," Jyou replied from where he sat, leaning against a tree. He looked rather pale, but better than he had before. "That crazy digimon has Sora, Taichi went recklessly into the building to search for him. You know, the usual." 

"What?" Mimi demanded, utterly confused. 

"Jyou!" Koushiro scolded. "Takeru came upon this building and said that Nanomon claimed Sora was inside and began to attack him. The rest of us came by to help – Jyou, Taichi, and myself that is, and when Taichi learned Sora was inside, rushed off to try and save her." 

"Yeah, except Jyou didn't get to help much. He got motion sickness," Gomamon added cheerfully and – in his partner's opinion – annoyingly. The doctor just groaned. 

"I wouldn't lean on those trees if I were you, Doctor," Mimi warned. "They're rather unstable." 

Almost in response to this statement, the tree behind Jyou chose to collapse, resulting in the doctor crashing to the ground. 

"Jyou, I got those herbs you said might help!" Takeru emerged from the dust, a fistful of dusty greens in one hand and Patamon flying behind him. "Oh. What happened?" 

***

The bright, overwhelming light suddenly became smaller, and Taichi spotted the crest as it floated through the dust at him and attached itself to his tag. "My crest," he breathed, astonished, and took a moment to admire the glowing object. 

Then there was an explosion only inches from his head, and he forgot about his amazement. "Sora!" he shouted, and this time, unexpectedly, he got a response. 

"Taichi? I'm in here!" 

***

"Well, that was hard," Daisuke breathed, collapsing on the dusty ground. "You all right?" he asked V-mon, who was looking rather drained. 

"Yes, just tired," the small digimon replied, eyelids drooping. "We beat him, right?" At Daisuke's nod, he looked only slightly more cheerful and awake. 

"Hawkmon, that was terrific!" Miyako shouted, dancing around and forgetting the tiredness she'd been feeling only a moment before. Hawkmon felt no such miracle, however, and groaned slightly in his partner's arms, exhausted.

Hikari peered at the small white cat that was her partner. "You knocked him out with one punch," she observed. At Tailmon's nod she shook her head slightly. "I didn't know you could do that!" 

Her partner merely shrugged slightly. "I'm full of surprises," she replied casually, but grinned.

Iori hugged Armadimon tightly, his insecurities of before forgotten for now. For a few moments, the group rested, regaining their strength. 

It was Miyako who noticed, upon looking around, that one of their group was missing. "Hey…," she said. "Where's Ken?" 

***

Taichi noticed that a part of the floor of this strange building had been his crest. He didn't know it at the time, but he would have been quite astonished to discover that Takeru's crest had been formed from the entranceway, and his from the floor. At the moment, he didn't really wonder about that. He knew, that he needed to get below the floor if he was to find Sora. 

"Sora?" he called into the dusty darkness of the basement. "Where are you?" 

"Over here!" she called in response, and though he wasn't clear on where 'here' was, he _was _able to gauge an approximate distance using his hearing. "I was hoping you'd come, Taichi," she confessed, her voice sounding slightly desperate. 

"Sorry I couldn't get here earlier," he apologized, moving down the hall and trying to keep her talking so that he would know where she was. "Are you all right?" 

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she assured him. "Taichi – this enemy – this Devimon – I don't know how we'll be able to beat him." 

Taichi peered into a darkened room. "I don't know either," he confessed. "But we'll try, I guess." 

"Yeah, I guess, that's the best hope," she replied. Suddenly, the entire basement of the building was brightened with a light. 

"What the - ?" Taichi gasped, covering his eyes. It was the same sort of light that had been released when he found his crest. With that revelation, he rushed forward as quickly as he could, hurrying towards the light. 

He found Sora in a small stone room, sitting on a metal table and holding out the tag that went with her crest. Her eyes were large, and her face aglow as the crest attached to her tag. "My crest –,"

***

"Just who is this Nanomon? I've never heard of him before," Yamato noted.

"From what I've been able to tell, he's very strong," Koushiro replied, searching through a book even as he spoke. "A level _above_ Adult, which means he's stronger than this Devimon that sent us the note." 

"So is he our real enemy then?" Takeru questioned, frowning in the direction of the battle, which was still going on. 

"I don't know," the wizard admitted. "There's not much about him in this book, just that, basically, he's at Perfection level – that's what the next stage is called – and that he's evil."

"Maybe the first chosen didn't fight him," Mimi suggested. 

"Or maybe he wasn't as strong of an enemy," Jyou offered.

"Both likely possibilities," Koushiro admitted. He was about to say more when another loud explosion shook the ground. 

"Plug Bomb!" Nanomon shouted, and now it was possible for the humans to view the strange little creature, for the last wall of the building he had been in was nearly totally demolished. 

"Maybe we'll have a chance if we hit him all at once," Greymon shouted by way of suggestion. "Mega Flame!" 

"Prickly Bang Bang!" Togemon added her attack as needles flew from the spiny plant's body. 

"Fox Fire!" Garurumon shot blue flames from his snout.

"Mega Blaster!" Kabuterimon added his giant energy ball. 

There was a huge amount of dust, and now even the ruined remains of the building were destroyed. When the giant cloud had settled, all were shocked to find that Nanomon was still standing,  and, in fact, laughing at them. 

"You're too weak to defeat me! It's a mathematical fact!" he shouted triumphantly. 

Before anyone – digimon or human – could respond to this statement, two humans emerged from the ruined remains of the building, a strange glowing aura surrounding them both, and a small pink bird trailing behind them. "Taichi!" several of the Chosen present shouted in unison. "Sora!" 

Jyou forgot his own nausea in his concern for others, and rushed quickly forward to see if they were all right. Both appeared rather weak, and Sora looked as though she was about to collapse. The moment the doctor reached her, she did so, fainting and falling into his arms. The glow that had been surrounding her faded then, and Piyomon, too, collapsed weakly to the ground.

Taichi looked dirty, scratched, and rather damaged, but was actually none the worse for wear. "Take care of her," he told the doctor simply and then looked directly at Nanomon. "Mathematical facts," he snorted derisively. "I'll show you real proof." 

The glowing aura that surrounded him suddenly got stronger, and then a similar glow began to surround Greymon. "The energy –!" the orange digimon gasped in surprise. 

The wild-haired young man nodded, gripping the tag and crest around his neck with one hand. 

"Greymon evolve!" the giant dinosaur called. Metal surrounded the plate on his nose, one of his claws, and part of his chest. "Metal Greymon!"

***

That was bad. That was really bad. I apologize deeply for its badness. Eck. I'm still having fun with this though! I'm so horrible at the emotional/sappy scenes…bleh. 

Now that I'm done insulting myself… ^_^…this _was_ fun to write, and I'm still not done! Yeah! I think this chapter answers a_ few_ of the Taichi-Sora questions I've gotten…::grin::  What will happen when they finally fight Devimon? What has happened to Ken? Will there be anymore really sappy scenes? (I hope not)… Will Leomon be a help? Will he even return? Will these questions ever end or will I degenerate and turn into a bad annoying announcer person?

Well, hopefully some of those will be answered when I put out the next part. ^_^  This story is almost done, and then the next story begins! Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed, you're all cool!


	11. Part Eleven: Help and Rest

The Reign of Courage

Part Eleven: Help and Rest

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Characters not mine. Plot is. No sue. No steal. Thanks. Enjoy!

***

There was a strange mist that surrounded him when he awoke. It was dark, and the dust was gone. Wormmon was nowhere in sight, and Ken blinked, confused, as he peered around. 

"Hello?" he called. His voice disappeared in the mist, the sound swallowed by the clouds. 

There was a lake before him, and he found that he was lying on the ground beside it. There was no grass. Only mud. He sat up and peered into the lake, but the reflection he saw was not his own. Before he could ponder this, he was aware of an explosion in the distance.

***

Daisuke sighed, frowning deeply. They had been searching for Ken for the past hour, and they'd seen nothing, not even a footprint. 

"This dust is so annoying," Miyako groaned, coughing. "I wish it would go away!"

"I wish there was at least some water," V-mon agreed. "I'm so thirsty." 

"And we can't see a darn thing!" 

The boy sighed, resting against a sorry-looking tree as he waited for Hikari and Iori to return. They had split up in order to search for Ken, and had agreed to meet in this location. However, the other two had not returned. 

"Daisuke! Look out!" V-mon shouted a warning. Daisuke peered around, looking for the attack, but there was none. He fell backwards into a pile of dust. 

"The tree just – fell apart," Miyako observed with wide eyes.   
"I see that," he noted dryly, wiping some of the dust from his eyes. Before he could stand up, however, there was a crunching noise in the trees at the edge of the clearing, and then a tall figure appeared. 

"Leomon!" Miyako was startled. She gripped her digivice cautiously with one hand, even though she knew that Hawkmon was too weak to evolve again. 

The large feline appeared friendly this time around, however. He held out his arm and they could see a wooden box filled with fruits. "I thought you might need some food," he offered. "What happened to the others?" 

***

Despite the huge and formidable opponent, Nanomon appeared to be unimpressed. "Ha!" he called boldly to Taichi. "Is that all?" 

"It'll be more than enough," the wild-haired boy replied with confidence. 

"Giga Destroyer!" Metal Greymon shouted at the top of his mighty lungs. The metal plate in his chest opened and a large missile launched itself at its overconfident foe. 

Nanomon was destroyed instantly. His screams echoed through the dust-filled world and his body deleted. 

***

Miyako blinked. "Others?"

Leomon nodded. "I happened upon a girl and two boys earlier. They helped to free me from the dark spell. I thought I had seen them with you."

"You did," Hawkmon replied. "One of them went missing, so we split up to look for him." 

The large feline seemed to understand. He set the box filled with fruit on the table. "Do you have a way to make a fire?" he wondered. 

"Uh, yes, I think so," Miyako stated, still confused and bewildered. 

Daisuke spoke up from where he still sat in the dust pile. "Excuse me - sir, uh, you said something about a dark spell?" 

"Yes," he replied, his voice serious now. "Devimon is a powerful digimon who rules this land. When I attempted to stop him, he controlled me with as much ease as he controls the rest of these digimon." 

"Controls digimon?" V-mon repeated blankly. "How?" 

"With large black gears," Leomon replied. "The gear is infused with darkness and the darkness controls the digimon. They do whatever Devimon wants of them. The way to free the digimon is by destroying the gear. Or to do as your friends do and use those devices." 

"Digivices?" Miyako questioned, holding hers up. 

Leomon nodded, but looked confused. "Yours look different, though. I wonder why." 

"Probably because we have digimentals," Daisuke replied. He showed the strange white box that held his digimental yuuki. Miyako realized then that she had one as well, in her opposite pocket. 

"Strange." 

***

The small, pink, round blob bounced cheerfully to his partner. "We did it!" he cheered. 

"We sure did!" Taichi replied, but appeared confused. "Koromon?"

The pink digimon nodded. "I used a lot of energy evolving that high," he explained. "But I'll be back to Agumon in no time." He grinned cheerfully. 

"In that case, we'd better rest before we try to fight again," Koushiro noted. His partner, too, had de-evolved. "It's nearly dark, and I'd like to study over these latest happenings."

"Yeah, and I'm getting hungry," Mimi agreed. "Let's eat." 

***

Daisuke finally picked himself up from the ground and proceeded to clean the remains of the tree from his clothes. "I don't like this at all," he stated as he watched Miyako and Leomon begin to cook the food on the newly-made campfire. 

"What? The food's not that bad," V-mon told him, but he knew that wasn't what he meant. Before anyone could respond, however, there was another noise in the trees, and Iori and Hikari emerged.

***

The fire was burning quite brightly now, and Mimi and Yamato had begun cooking the meal. They had a few supplies left over from their lunch that afternoon, and were able to supplement it with some berries and nuts that were found in the area. 

"Here's some more of that firewood," Takeru announced, dropping the pile of dusty, half-dead sticks at his brother's feet. "It's not much, but it burns." 

"Very quickly, unfortunately," Mimi observed, tossing another on to the fire. "It's a good thing this won't take too long to cook." 

Yamato was frowning at the meat that he was cooking over the fire. "Another ten minutes, at least," he stated, and then looked at the pile Takeru had brought. "Better find more." 

"We're trying," Patamon piped up from behind the younger boy's head. "But everything's so _dusty_ it's hard to find good wood." 

"We'll get some," Takeru assured his brother, and disappeared into the woods again. 

Meanwhile, at another fire, the rest of the party sat. Koushiro had lit this one and powered it with his own magical energy, making firewood almost completely unnecessary. He now used the light provided by the fire to read in the otherwise complete darkness. 

Sora was resting comfortably near the fire, eating some of the food that didn't require cooking. Jyou had examined her quickly and discovered that, aside from being very exhausted, she appeared fine. Now she rested for the next day's battle. 

Taichi was in fine physical health as well, but that didn't stop him from being concerned. He had nothing to do, and instead found a suitably stable tree to lean against and stood at the outskirts of the fire's lit circle, brooding. Koromon, still in his de-evolved state, peered up at his partner and followed his gaze back to the circle. 

"You all right, Taichi?" the small pink digimon questioned. 

Startled slightly, the wild haired young man jumped before he looked back down at his partner and nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "Just wondering what happened to the others." 

"I have a theory that only some of us are supposed to fight this Devimon thing," Jyou remarked from where he sat nearby, perusing one of the books Koushiro had brought and loaned to him. "This dust is probably not ordinary dust. And this area certainly doesn't look like the land around the mountain. I think there's some sort of magic involved." 

Koushiro paused momentarily in his own reading and nodded. "You could be right," he noted. "I've noticed that it's unusually thick dust, and that despite this thickness, we were able to find each other. However, we couldn't find the others. In fact, those of us that made it through are six of the nine who were designated to receive crests. I don't think that's a coincidence." 

"What about Takeru?" Sora questioned, having been listening to the conversation. "Does he have one too?" 

Before any of the others could reply, the boy in question and his brother emerged from the dust surrounding the fire, food in hand. All thoughts then turned to the eating.

***

"So you _are_ supposed to help us," Iori noted solemnly to the large digimon sitting cross-legged across the fire from him. 

Leomon nodded, an equally grave expression on his face. "Yes," he replied, having declined food while the others ate. "I was originally supposed to assist the first seven, but it appears I am too late." 

"They're in more danger than we are, aren't they?" Hikari asked, but it wasn't really a question. "They're the ones that have to fight Devimon. But why?" 

The large feline sighed. "I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "The prophecies say many things and explain even less, as I'm sure you're aware by now. This dust is magic-controlled. Those who are destined to fight are permitted through, and those who are not stay behind." 

"The earthquake -," Miyako remembered. "Was that magic, too? Did it happen because _we_ were there?"

"It did. The dust and the earthquake insured that only those destined to could go through the dust." 

"So why do we have these stupid digimentals if we can't help?" Daisuke questioned, anger appearing in his voice. "I thought they were supposed to help us fight." 

Leomon shook his head solemnly. "I don't know the answer to your question," he replied. "I only know that if they were given to you, they will someday have a use. I suspect there are many battles to come." 

"Do you know what happened to Ken?" Iori questioned, speaking softly.

Again the digimon shook his head. "I'm sorry. Those things are beyond my knowledge." 

There was silence then as the group ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Silently, they moved through the dim lighting and set up places to sleep for the night. 

***

The light from the magical fire was still burning, making it easy for the wizard who had formed it to read. Everyone else was asleep, and he had volunteered for the first watch, mostly so he could attempt to gain more information from the books he'd brought. So far, however, he'd had no luck, and his eyes were tiring after the long and stressful day. 

Sighing, Koushiro shut the book and rubbed his eyes. The dust-covered forest around them was silent, without even the usual night-calls of nocturnal digimon. The magic Jyou had commented on was thick around this area. The young wizard could feel it in his bones, but it was a statement of its thickness that even the doctor had sensed it. 

There was _no_ digimon in this area that was not evil in someway. The darkness and the gears Devimon had used to infect the Unimon that Yamato and Mimi had encountered and the Kuwagamon he and Jyou had helped Taichi to fight had a stronghold on every type of digimon. There were no peaceful digimon, Koushiro was certain of it. There were only the dark-filled ones and the Chosen partners. 

If Koushiro had been more inclined to the practice of his magic, he might have been more astonished by the sheer darkness of the region. Even now, he was able to see that it filled every nook and cranny of the landscape, but he could not see how deep. However, he was more of a scholar than a practicing wizard, and as such, his skill in this area was limited.

He was nearly ready to drift off to sleep, tired, when he heard a rustle behind him and spun to see Taichi attempting to quietly sneak up on him. 

"You didn't have to get up. There's another hour on my watch," he stated in a low voice so as not to disturb those still sleeping. 

The other shrugged. "I know. But I couldn't sleep and you looked tired. Stay up if you want, but I'm not going back to bed." 

Koushiro sighed, knowing he wasn't going to be able to argue. He said nothing, only moving aside to make room on the log he sat on.

Even in the dim light the young wizard was able to see the large grin on the other's face as he sat down beside him. "Find anything new in those books?" Taichi questioned, trying to make conversation. 

Koushiro shook his head. "I keep feeling like there's something they're trying to hide from me. Every time I look at them the pages seem to blur and I can't see clearly. Part of it's tiredness, but I'm almost certain there's magic involved." 

"In the books?" Taichi asked. "Shouldn't you be able to figure that out?"

The other sighed. "Ordinarily, yes," he admitted. "But it's a very faint magic. I didn't detect it back at the castle, and I wasn't really looking for it. I was just so excited to have found the books. And out here, there's so much magic in the air that it makes it hard to see any _other_ magic." He rubbed the bridge of his nose in a gesture of frustration. 

There was a moment of silence before Taichi spoke up again. "What's that prophecy thing you told me about before? The one about the seven?" 

"The one about the smallest defeating the evil?" Koushiro repeated. When the other nodded, he recited: "'_When the darkness rises, the seven will be called to action. The battle will be long, and will test their teamwork. The first battle shall be won by the smallest.'_ There's more, but I don't remember how it goes."

"There's Seven of us now, aren't there?" Taichi asked. He held up his fingers as he counted. "You, me, Jyou, Sora, Yamato, Mimi, and Takeru. Who's the smallest of us all?" 

"In terms of height? I'd say I am," Koushiro replied. "But somehow I don't think that's what they mean." 

"Maybe they mean the youngest…that would be Takeru." 

"Or maybe the smallest digimon? That's Koromon right now," Koushiro said, half-joking. 

"Very funny," Taichi caught the tease. "Patamon hasn't evolved yet. Maybe that's what they mean?" 

"Maybe," Koushiro admitted. He paused and yawned deeply. "We'll find out tomorrow. I'm going to sleep."

***

Daisuke peered silently at the sun as it crept higher into the clouded sky. He was filled with a sense of hopelessness. He knew that today, seven of his friends would be fighting an enemy like they had never seen before and might never see again. There was a serious and very real danger that one or more –  maybe _all_ - of them would not return alive.

He'd never been particularly close to any of them. Takeru was a good friend, but not as close as Ken. Yamato and he had never _really_ spoken, partly due to their age difference. Mimi was older than he – and a girl – which made her hard to know and harder to relate to. Sora was nice, but had the same issues – along with the fact that he hadn't seen her very often. Jyou and Koushiro were both too absorbed in their work to really be known by anyone. 

Taichi was someone Daisuke had admired and emulated for nearly as long as he had known him, but he'd always been slightly intimidated by the older boy. And, indeed, who wouldn't be? Taichi had grown up a prince in a castle, waited on by servants, bred for leadership. He was boisterous, usually cheerful and friendly, and easy to speak with, but somehow Daisuke, despite a developing friendship and companionship over the years as the age difference began to matter less, was also almost frightened by him. 

"Already awake?" Hikari's voice called to him through the dusty air. 

He shrugged, still looking at the sun. "I had the last watch," he replied. "I've been up for a few hours." 

"Mind if I join you?" she asked, and he could tell by the sound she had moved closer to him. "I can't sleep anymore." 

Squinting through the sun, he peered up at her and smiled slightly. "Worried?" he asked. 

"A little," she admitted, but he knew it was a lie. She wasn't worried a little. She was worried a _lot_.

There were a few moments of peaceful silence. For a little bit, they could almost feel as though life were normal, and that they weren't in a forest covered with magical dust and that Ken wasn't missing and that seven of their friends might _not_ die before that sun sank again. 

Hikari shivered slightly. She'd wrapped the blanket she'd slept with around her, but still felt cold. It wasn't the temperature that made her shiver, but she wasn't sure how to explain what it was. 

"You're cold?" Daisuke asked, more out of politeness than real concern. 

The girl wrapped the blanket around her and shook her head. "Not from the temperature, I think," she replied. "There's something here – some sort of darkness. Do you feel it at all?" 

He was about to shake his head no, reply that he felt nothing of the sort, and that perhaps it was really just the morning cold or something, but something took those words from his mouth. Suddenly, he felt a shiver go down his spine, and for a brief half-second or even shorter, he felt the darkness, the impending sense of doom that he was sure Hikari was speaking of. 

He stood up then; got to his feet as quickly as possible, but by the time he was standing up, the split-second darkness was over. Everything looked the same, and he was just in a forest again, with the early-morning sun's rays peeking through massive dust clouds. 

"Daisuke?" Hikari asked. He looked down to where she sat, next to where he had just been sitting. Her big brown eyes peered up at his, and she looked the same as always. Concerned eyes, brown, short hair framing her face, a thin but useful blanket wrapped around her shoulders, a little dirt smudged on her face, and a pale, pink dress folded under her that surrounded her legs and arms. 

He blinked once, clearing his head. "I'm all right," he said, sitting down again. But, though the moment had passed, he remembered it. "I think I felt that – darkness – you were talking about. Just for a second." He frowned. 

"I know, it scares me, too," she confessed, and turned toward the sun again, as though the light in its rays were the sort of thing that was going to keep her attached to the world in its concrete form. 

"I felt that way before," Daisuke admitted. "When I got my digivice." His hand went automatically to his pocket, where the object in question was safe. "And again when that – Demon – appeared."

Hikari shivered again, this time at the mention of Demon, and the reminder of the entire horrific night in which he'd appeared. She'd been aware, then, of the huge amount of darkness surrounding the hill, surrounding Demon, surrounding them all. "That was scary," she agreed, drawing her knees close to her and hugging them tightly. 

***

The sun had just barely risen when Koushiro felt a hand nudging him awake. Groaning, he sat up from the ground where he had made his bed the previous night. "I feel like I just fell asleep," he grumbled. "Is it morning already?" 

Looking around, he saw that he wasn't the only one feeling groggy. The rest of the group was also slow to rise. "Yup. Rise and shine," Taichi was unusually perky, though the young wizard noted the beginnings of tired circles near his eyes. 

"Did you sleep at all?" he questioned. 

"Sure I did," the other replied, grinning in such a way that Koushiro knew he was probably not being truthful. "Come on. We need you for a fire. We've got to get moving if we expect to get anything done today." 

"There's not much food left," Mimi reported, searching through the bag they had brought supplies in. 

"I could have sworn we had more than that," Yamato frowned. 

"We did," Palmon reminded him. "We ate a lot of it, and some was left with the other group. Remember?" 

"We'll just have to gather some food in the area," Taichi decided. "Get what you can, divide the rest as evenly as possible." With that, Mimi, Yamato, Takeru, and their partners set out to search for some food. 

"Just out of curiosity, do we even have a clue what we're going up against today?" Jyou wondered as he began to roll the blanket he'd slept on. 

"Sure we do," Gomamon replied, holding open the bag so his partner could put the blanket in. "A big evil digimon."

"I was kind of hoping for something more specific. Like, what exactly are we going to _do_? Do we have a strategy at _all?_"

"Strategy?" Gomamon joked, but he was partly serious. 

"What sort of strategy would you use?" Taichi questioned. "The simple, run in and hit him with all we've got? Surround him from all sides and hit him with all we've got? We don't even know what we're up against, and we don't know where he is. There isn't really much strategy we can use." 

"What _do_ we know about our enemy?" Sora wondered, having been absent from all the previous discussions they'd conducted. 

"He's very powerful, even though he's only at adult level," Koushiro reported. "I haven't been able to get much more than that. I think there's some magic on the books I've managed to get that makes it hard for me to get any information from them."

"There's also a prophecy that says the smallest will defeat him, but we haven't figured out who that is yet," Tentomon added. 

"Then we'll have to hit him with all we've got," Piyomon spoke up. "If he's that powerful, it'll take more than one of us to defeat him. Maybe all of us." 

Taichi rubbed his forehead in a gesture of tired frustration. Koushiro noted with some interest that he'd been doing that quite often lately. "We'll find out when the time comes, I suppose," he decided, sitting down and finally showing some hint of his exhaustion. 

"You _didn't_ sleep, did you?" Sora asked.

"A little," he defended, but relented when he saw the look in her eyes. "I couldn't. I kept trying to, but I just couldn't drift off." He sighed deeply and rested his head in his hands. 

"That's probably not a good strategy," Jyou observed, settling into the mode of doctor again. 

Taichi shrugged slightly, uncomfortable in the sudden criticism and attention he was being given. Sora noticed, and attempted to change the subject. "Weren't you going to light a fire, Koushiro?" 

The wizard looked up from his book. "Oh, right," he remembered. Quickly, he assembled a small group of sticks into a fire, then he stood a few feet back and shut his eyes in concentration. 

The hand movements for the spell which created a fire were very easy. It was one of the first spells taught to apprentice wizards and sorcerers. However, to keep a fire going for a long time, and with very little wood, was a bit more complicated. A beginning wizard would have been obliged to recite a complicated spell while performing the movements, but Koushiro was experienced enough that he did not require the recitation of the rhyme. 

Instead, he formed the words in his mind, visualizing them instead of speaking them. He formed his hands into a cup at waist level, breathed deeply, and then moved his fingers in a complex pattern while turning the palms upward and outward. When he was finished, his hands formed a cup that faced the pile of twigs intended to light aflame. Then, Koushiro stretched his arms so that the cup his hands formed was stretched towards the pile. He opened his eyes then, and the fire instantaneously began, sparking easily and then quickly erupting into a full fledged flame. 

The redhead wizard sighed, wiping his palms on the side of his shirt and smiling contentedly. He sat down again and returned to his book, almost completely unaware of – or at least uninterested in – his audience. 

Jyou smiled slightly, shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't care how many times you do that, Koushiro, I'll still be fascinated," he reported. 

Koushiro looked up from his book momentarily to favor the young doctor with a grin. "I know," he replied somewhat cheekily. 

Sora, too, was somewhat awed. "I wish I had even a sliver of magic in me," she sighed. "I'd love to be able to do something like that, wouldn't you, Taichi?" 

Taichi's only response was a soft snore, which caused the other three to laugh softly. 

***

Sorry for the delay in this. I had a week off from school, which of course meant that I did nothing for seven days straight. Could have worked on this, but did I? Nope. This part is a little shorter than the others, but it's coming to a close soon, so the next part will be longer. 

How much more in this story? Well, I can't make any promises 'cause I'd just end up breaking them, but I guess at least two more parts. There will be at least one more sequel to this. Writing the ending to _this_ story is proving difficult only because I keep getting distracted by ideas I have for the _next_ one. And a few others that are completely unrelated! I'm having trouble keeping them straight, but I'm determined to finish this before I start the next one.

Eventually, I _will_ answer the question of what happened to Ken, I promise, but not for a_ while_. And if you're looking for more Daikari – as many of you are – I promise there will be some really good stuff in the story after this one. I _can_ promise that. ^_^  Thanks again for all the nice reviews. ^_^ 


	12. Part Twelve: A Magical Defeat

The Reign of Courage

Part Twelve: A Magical Defeat

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon and all related characters ARE NOT mine. The plot, however pitiful it may be, IS! Thanks for not suing or stealing. Enjoy!

***

"This stupid thing is just useless," Miyako grumbled, banging her digivice against her hand in frustration. "Just plain useless." 

"Miyako, it's not entirely useless," Hawkmon reminded her as diplomatically as possible. "It would be a good idea _not_ to destroy it." 

"But it _is_ useless!" the girl replied, half-whining now. "What good is it if it can't tell me where anyone is? What good is it!" She sank against the ground in frustration, tears beginning to form in her eyes. 

"Well, it did let Hawkmon armor evolve," Iori reminded her in a calm voice from nearby. 

"Lot of good that did us!" Miyako shouted back, heedless of logic. "Ken's still missing, and who _knows_ if they've found Sora! Now they're all going to get themselves _killed_ and I can't do _anything_ _about it_!"

"Whoa," was Leomon's comment at that moment in time, and Armadimon had to agree with the large feline. 

"Miyako," Hawkmon said, cautiously, calmly. "Be careful." 

Miyako had ceased shouting at this point. She had a look of stricken fear on her face, and she looked around wildly. Iori observed what scared her – there was something_ different_ about her. He'd seen it before, when he was a boy, and he knew he'd probably see it again before his life was to end. 

There were flares of magic around Miyako.

Judging from the look of fear on her face, Miyako had _not_ experienced this before, which Iori couldn't help being slightly surprised about. When he was young, living with his grandfather, he'd seen many children, in the heat of emotional passion, first experience the flare-up of magic. Since he'd come to the palace, he'd learned from Koushiro more of the technical aspects of magic and its control, though he didn't possess any magical energy himself, but he had learned the practical ways of dealing with a magic flare-up at home in the dojo. That usually involved talking calmly with the person who was experiencing it, and then quickly getting them to someone – usually an experienced wizard or sorceress of some sort – who could help them control it. 

Though he couldn't perform the second half of that – magic prevented him from getting to Koushiro or anyone outside of this dust filled forest – Iori was determined to attempt to calm Miyako as much as possible.  

"What's – happening?" the girl wondered, the fear in her eyes even more pronounced. She could  see the flaring colors surrounding her, Iori noted, and that scared her. 

"Miyako, it's all right. I've seen this before. It's a magic flare," the youngest chosen stated. "It won't hurt you, you'll be fine; you just need to calm down." 

"A magic flare?" Leomon repeated, confused. The look on Miyako's face told Iori that she, too, was lost. He needed to try to explain to her what was going on without scaring her senseless. 

"What's a m-magic flare?" Miyako questioned, her voice shaky. 

"It's nothing dangerous," Iori assured her. "There's magic in you, and it's making itself known. That's all."   
"Magic?" Miyako's voice was even shakier now. The colors surrounding her suddenly grew brighter. "How did it get there?" 

"You mean she's _got_ magic?" Hawkmon translated. "But – how? And why?"

Iori nodded. "I've seen these tons of times. Magic can stay dormant for a long time. When it finally makes itself known, it flares up like this. My grandfather's dojo had quite a few students that possessed magic – and it made itself known during practices. Usually, it's discovered at a young age, but not always. The best thing to do, Miyako, is to calm down as much as possible and not get too excited. Then, as soon as we can, we'll find someone who can teach you to control it. I'm sure Koushiro would be happy to help." His voice remained calm throughout his speech, and he noted that the colors surrounding her were beginning to fade slightly. 

"Maybe you should sit down," Armadimon suggested. "That usually helps, right?" He looked to his partner for assurance. 

"Yes, sit down. Breathe deeply. Daisuke and Hikari will hopefully have found some water, and that will help," Iori agreed. "Once we've got some food, you can eat some of that, too." 

"They should be back any moment," Hawkmon agreed. 

At that _exact_ moment, there was a rustling in the trees at the edge of the clearing where they'd set up camp. "You're not going to believe this, but there's a stream less than ten minutes walk from here," Daisuke stated eagerly, carrying a sack filled with water. Then he spotted Miyako, and was so astonished he dropped the bag, spilling the water all over the ground. 

"No -!" Iori shouted, but it was too late. The water had already been soaked into the dry ground. "Great," he mumbled under his breath. 

"What's going on?" Hikari wondered, following behind him also carrying a sack, this one filled with berries and roots she'd found. "Oh Daisuke – did you _have_ to spill the water?" 

Daisuke didn't  note the bag, the water that had spilled over his shoes, or even Hikari's concerned voice. "What happened?" he blurted before anyone could explain. 

Hikari looked up from the ground and the sack – which she'd been eating out of as she walked – and noted Miyako for the first time. "Good question…"

"It's really nothing to worry about," Iori began, trying to subdue the situation before Miyako got anymore nervous or Daisuke inadvertently blurted something that might be harmful. "It's just that Miyako's having a magic flare-up. We need to keep her _calm_," he added, hoping that, if not Daisuke, at least Hikari would get the hint. 

"Daisuke, I think you should go get some more water," Hikari decided, picking up the sack he'd dropped on the ground and thrusting it into her hands.

"But I -," the boy began. 

"Great idea," Leomon interrupted. "I'll go with you." With that, he picked up the nearest sack, which had been carrying a few blankets, emptied its contents onto the ground, and walked past Daisuke, grabbing his arm as he went and dragging him behind. They were gone before the boy could utter another word. 

Iori sighed, relieved. 

"Magic flare-up?" Hikari questioned of Miyako. "I didn't know you had magic powers." 

"Neither did I," the girl replied, dejectedly. The flame-like colors were nearly muted now, but Iori saw some dark colors mixing within them. 

"Princess, a word, please," he interrupted politely, gripping Hikari's sleeve and pulling her aside. 

"I didn't know magic could appear so late," Hikari noted once they were out of hearing range, leaving Tailmon, Armadimon, and Hawkmon to try to keep the girl calm. 

"I didn't either," Iori confessed. "But I've seen these happen before. We need to keep her calm until we can get her to someone who has knowledge of magic. Koushiro would be best, I think, but if we can't get to him, there could be a problem."   
"What sort of problem?" she wondered. 

"Do you see the aura around her? That's the magic. The more excited she gets, the brighter the colors. The goal is to get the colors to be muted as much as possible. As she gets calmer, the colors will get duller. Then the aura will eventually be invisible to those who don't possess magic. But, the colors around Miyako aren't only getting duller, they're getting _darker._"

"I have a feeling I know where this is going," Hikari nodded. "The darker colors mean that the magic is getting darker." 

He nodded. "This may be the _worst_ place to have a magic flare-up, because there's so much magic interfering. It's full of magic – to keep us here, to keep us away from the other Chosen, to keep ordinary people out. We can sense it, and we don't have magic ability. Added to that, is the fact that we have no one to help her. This won't be easy." 

***

Sora cautiously tapped the forehead of the sleeping boy on the ground. "Come on, sleepyhead," she coaxed in a soft voice. "Time to get up and fight the monsters." 

Taichi groaned and rolled over slightly, but he was awake. "Don't wanna," he mumbled. 

"I guess you don't want to eat then, either," Sora replied. "Oh well. I get Taichi's share of the food!" she shouted loudly to the rest of the group. 

"No you don't!" the wild-haired boy shouted, sitting up quickly and dashing for the center of the camp. 

***

Daisuke very cautiously carried the sack full of water back into the campsite. He was determined not to spill it this time. Since they were unlucky enough to be the half of the original group without the cooking utensils, they had no pots, buckets, or plates with which to eat. When he returned, he saw that Iori, experienced with making do with limited materials, had set up a cooking apparatus. 

Two tall, sturdy sticks had been jammed into the ground about three feet apart. Each of the sticks had a fork at the tip, and a third stick had been placed between them. Now, Iori was rubbing dust-covered sticks together at a spot underneath the setup in an attempt to start a fire. 

When Daisuke had reached the site of the makeshift kitchen, Leomon lifted the stick in the center from its raised position, and instructed the boy to hang the sack filled with water on the stick. 

"I guess we just throw together what we can to make some food, huh?" he questioned. Iori nodded. 

"None of us has much cooking experience, but I'm sure we'll figure out _something_," he replied. "That is, if we can get a fire started." 

Daisuke shrugged. "We'll manage. Want to get some more firewood while I see what's edible?" 

"Do you _know_ what's edible?" Leomon questioned. 

"I eat, don't I?" the boy replied with a grin. "It can't be much harder to cook." He began rummaging through the sack of berries, nuts, and roots Hikari had left at the campsite while Iori, Armadimon, and Leomon wandered off to search for more firewood. 

There was a little meat left over after the previous night's meal, but Daisuke doubted it was still good enough to eat. He tasted a few of the roots and found that they were actually quite tasty. He frowned, however, since there was no knife to chop them to smaller pieces. 

"What are you going to do?" V-mon questioned, sensing his partner's dilemma. 

"I guess they'll have to stay in larger pieces," Daisuke decided. "Maybe if I could stir the stuff while it's cooking, they might mash easier in hot water." 

"Will that work?" 

"Maybe." He shrugged. "I have no idea. But I won't be able to cook anything until I have a fire. Let's see if I don't have better luck than Iori did." 

***

"We have _got_ to get home soon," Yamato sighed as he ate the last of his food from his plate. "I am a _horrible_ cook. If I don't get home and eat some good food soon, I'll starve." 

"Don't you think you're being a _bit_ overdramatic?" Taichi questioned, eagerly devouring the last of his own portion. With his mouth full, he continued: "I think you and Mimi do a great job." 

"Do you really?" Mimi asked, overhearing the compliment from the opposite side of the circle. "Thanks so much! It's really hard to get anything with such limited supply of food, you know." 

"Oh, it's terrific, Mimi," Sora said before anyone else could say something less complimentary. "You've done great." 

Takeru swallowed the last of his food and took a gulp of water from his cup. "I'm just glad we found some water," he stated. "I was getting _really_ thirsty." 

Taichi stood up, wiping his hands on his shirt. He stretched once, yawned, and squinted through the dust, which appeared to be getting thicker by the second. "I'd say we should skip the washing of the dishes and get moving," he decided, serious now. "We've already wasted a lot of time."

Wordlessly, the others stood as well, and within moments, they were packed again and ready to begin walking. 

"Which way _do _we go?" Jyou questioned, peering around the clearing. He was barely able to see through the thick dust. He turned in all directions. Everything appeared the same, although the dust behind him wasn't quite so thick. 

"I'm guessing we need to find the source of this dust," Yamato stated, and his words were nearly swallowed. Jyou had to strain to hear him, even though he was standing next to him. 

"You won't have to search long then," a deep voice pierced the dust, and then the clouds parted, and a dark, towering figure was visible. 

***

"Having any luck?" 

Daisuke nearly forgot about the bag of water hanging over his head and almost stood straight up. "Not much," he admitted. "This wood doesn't want to light – and if I can't get it to light, we won't get to have anything to eat today." 

Hikari sighed. "Have you noticed anything strange about this dust?" 

"Aside from the fact that it won't go away?" he wondered, crouching on the ground and resuming his fire-starting attempts. 

"Yes. I think it's starting to let up a bit." She paused momentarily. "You're going to cook?" 

"Sure," he replied, grinning. "Somebody's got to." 

There was silence then, and a moment later, a small spark leapt from the twigs Daisuke had been rubbing together viciously. Another moment, and a small flame was blazing in the pile. "Not bad," Hikari observed. 

"Let's just hope Iori, Armadimon, and Leomon manage to get some firewood back here soon so it keeps going," he replied with a frown as he stood up again. "How's Miyako?" 

***

"I'm guessing that's our enemy," Jyou observed the large black digimon. 

"Yeah, big, black, and evil-looking definitely fits him," Gomamon observed. 

"Oh no," the creature replied. "I'm not your enemy. I'm your worst nightmare. And you can call me Devimon." With that, it threw back its head and began to laugh. 

"Actually, we're _your _worst nightmare," Taichi shouted in defiant response. "Agumon!" 

"Agumon evolve! Greymon!"

"Hit him with all we've got, right Piyomon?" Sora questioned. The pink bird nodded. 

"Piyomon evolve! Birdramon!"

"It would be the best strategy for us to hit him with everything," Koushiro agreed. 

"Tentomon evolve! Kabuterimon!" 

"Well, since we're sure he's the enemy, I guess that strategy will have to do," Jyou noted. 

"Barrel of laughs, Jyou," Gomamon replied sarcastically. "Gomamon evolve! Ikkakumon!" 

"You ready, Palmon?" Mimi asked. 

"Ready! Palmon evolve! Togemon!"

"Let's do it!" Yamato shouted his agreement. 

"Gabumon evolve! Garurumon!" 

Patamon peered at Takeru. "What do _we_ do?" he wondered. 

"Stay out of the way!" Yamato replied sensibly. "Unless you want to get killed!"

"Not particularly," Takeru replied in agreement. He stepped back, away from the battle.

***

Miyako could still see the strange aura that now appeared to surround her on a permanent basis, even though Hikari had said that it was invisible to her. The bright colors were definitely gone, but now, something was different about it. 

Iori nodded when Miyako told him about it. "None of us can see the aura because we don't have any magical ability," he explained in his usual calm voice. "It'll still be visible to you, though. And, when you develop your magic, you'll be able to see other things you couldn't before." 

"Like other auras?" she asked, and he nodded. 

"Precisely. From what I've been told, I can tell you that all those who possess even the tiniest bit of magic have an aura. And even those without magic have a pale aura, though it's harder to see. But there's other things to see," he continued. "Spells and such. I can't explain it exactly, I don't have any magic. But I'm sure Koushiro will be glad to." 

Miyako was about to comment on this when she noted a scent drifting towards them from the main campground. "What _is_ that?" she wondered. 

The boy sniffed the air once. "Daisuke's cooking," he replied. "Care to test?" 

***

"Get him while he's distracted," Taichi said, just loud enough for his partner to hear. Devimon, his head still thrown back in laughter, was most definitely distracted. 

"Right. Mega Flame!" Greymon called, but the giant fireball bounced harmlessly off the creature's wing. 

"From above!" Sora called, and a second later, Birdramon attacked. 

"Meteor Wing!" the fiery bird called, but it bounced uselessly off Devimon's head. 

"Mega Shocker!" Kabuterimon added his own attack from the opposite direction. 

"Should have guessed," Koushiro sighed pessimistically. "The odds were against it having an effect." 

"My turn," Togemon shouted, jumping forward and latching herself on to one of the creature's legs. 

"Togemon! Get him!" Mimi shouted encouragement. 

"Fox Fire!" Garurumon joined the fight, and gripped his teeth securely into the other leg. 

"That's it!" Yamato shouted. 

Devimon only laughed again and shook one leg. Togemon sailed backwards into Greymon, who groaned aloud and fell backwards on to the ground. 

"No!" both Mimi and Taichi shouted in unison, rushing towards the pile-up. 

"Foolish humans," Devimon intoned, shaking his other leg. Garurumon was loosened, and he crashed into Ikkakumon. 

"Ow, that's gotta hurt," Jyou winced sympathetically. 

"You're telling me," Ikkakumon groaned from the bottom of the pile.

"Dark Wing!" their enemy called, sweeping an arm wide. A stream of dark energy flew through the air, causing Kabuterimon and Birdramon both to fall to the ground. 

Yamato swore under his breath. "We're doomed. All that didn't have an effect at all." 

"Can't you evolve again?" Taichi was asking Greymon, in the hopes that the more evolved state would be of use. But the large dinosaur was too busy trying to untangle himself from Togemon to reply. 

***

Hikari munched slowly on her food; the expression on her face grim. 

"You all right?" Miyako wondered, sitting beside her and trying to be cheerful. 

The brown-haired princess peered up from the plate. "Yes. I suppose I'm just worried, that's all." 

"Oh good, I thought it was the food for a moment," Daisuke looked relieved.

***

Takeru peered from behind the tree that was his hiding spot. "I don't care if we don't have a chance, Patamon," he said to the flying digimon hovering behind him. "We can't just let them be destroyed like this. We've _got_ to help."    
"Right. Are you ready?" 

"I'm ready." Takeru removed his digivice from his pocket. 

***

Daisuke finished the remainder of his portion of stew and was taking a sip of water from the sack they had chosen to use as the communal cup when he saw the flash of bright light in the distance. 

"Whoa!" he said, and fixed his eyes on the spot. "Do you see that?" 

Miyako saw it, turning around, and seeing the huge bright white light glowing from the center of the dust filled clouds. "What is it?" she wondered. "It's so…"

"Bright," Hikari noted. "Do you think - ?" 

"I think it could be," Tailmon agreed with her partner. "It could be them." 

"So is that light a good thing or a bad thing?" Hawkmon wondered. 

***

"Patamon evolve! Angemon!" 

For a few moments Takeru couldn't see anything. Couldn't hear anything except the squealing of his digivice and the shout of his partner as he called out his evolution. Everything was surrounded in a white light, and he couldn't see past that. Couldn't even see the dust that filled the area. 

Then he saw his partner. Angemon was a humanoid digimon like he'd never seen before – not even in Koushiro's many books. He was tall, with blue on his legs and a completely white upper body and arms. A helmet covered most of the digimon's head, leaving only a mouth and a long lock of blond hair exposed. 

"Heaven's Knuckle!" 

Devimon's scream of outright pain shook the entire area to its core. "NO!" the evil creature shouted. 

"Evil cannot be allowed to triumph," Angemon stated as though quoting from something. 

The half-deleted Devimon only grinned and laughed for a moment. His legs had begun the deletion – even parts of his torso were fading. Takeru felt a chill go down his spine as the evil creature cackled. 

"Oh, but don't you see?" Devimon was saying. "You've used up all _your_ energy as well! So you _haven't_ won! Ha! Ha!" He was laughing even as his head was deleted and faded away to nothingness. 

Takeru's eyes were huge in astonishment. He stared up at his partner, suddenly feeling as though he was once more six years old. "No-," he whispered, softly. He wouldn't cry, he told himself, he just _wouldn't_. But tears formed in his eyes. "No!" he shouted, wiping them away with a frustrated hand. 

Angemon was deleting slower than Devimon had, but he was still fading. "Don't worry," he told his partner with a cheerful expression. "I'll return if you want me to." 

Takeru didn't know how to respond to that, and couldn't even if he'd wanted to. A lump was forming in his throat that was the size of a rock, and he could hardly see because of the tears. "No!" he shouted again, but it sounded more like a sob than a word. 

With another too-cheerful (and yet sad at the same time) smile, Angemon was gone. The bright light faded and Takeru could hardly breathe. He was hardly aware of it when he sank to the ground, suddenly feeling weak. How could he go on without his partner? How? How was it possible when he'd spent his whole life with Patamon – and before him, Tokomon? How could he?

"Takeru," Yamato said, softly after a long period of silence, but Takeru didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to be comforted by an older brother. How could Yamato possibly have _any_ idea what he was going through? How could _anyone?_ It wasn't fair, and the younger sibling was determined to be miserable for the rest of his life.  

At least, he thought he was. Then, suddenly, through his tears, he felt something soft float through the air in front of him. He blinked and peered through watery eyes, seeing a single white feather, left from his partner's wing, float to the ground. Hardly daring to hope, he saw another, and then another, until a small pile of them had collected on the ground. Takeru reached forward, wanting to collect that last memory of his partner, when suddenly, the air seemed to shimmer, and it wasn't just because of the dust. He blinked, and when he had finished blinking, an orange and white egg lay before him where the feathers had once been. 

"Whoa," was Yamato's response, but Takeru didn't have one, at least not a spoken one. He stared for a full second or two before he practically flung himself upon the egg and wrapped his arms tightly around it. 

"I'm not ever going to let _anything_ happen to you, ever again," he promised the egg, cradling it in his arms as delicately as he possibly could while still hugging it, tightly. 

"Eventually, the egg will hatch," Gabumon spoke up, having de-evolved after the fight's completion. 

"He'll be Patamon again?" Takeru asked, and his expression turned from an expression of unconditional love to great cheer.  
  


***

The light had been so bright for a few moments that no one knew quite what to make of the situation, but then it faded. The dust was lifting. Daisuke was the first to notice it. Then, he thought he spotted a bit of green poking through one of the trees, and a bit more on the ground. 

"I think they did it," he said, quietly at first, but then it turned into a cheer. "They did! They did it! It's over!" 

And everyone was cheering, dancing, shouting, and hugging people they normally might not have hugged. Laughing as hard as they could, and grinning even harder. Iori jumped up and down in the excitement, and hugged Tailmon and Armadimon at once. Miyako almost screamed in happiness and hugged Iori and her partner, who didn't mind the squeeze as much as he might normally have. Daisuke gripped V-mon's hands in his own and spun around in circles until he got dizzy and Hikari had to help him off the ground. 

In the excitement, no one noticed the dust was fading even more, and that they were no longer in the same place they had been. The clearing they had been in was replaced by an open field with green grass stretching as far as they could see, and a small village in the distance. Flowers sprouted from the ground and small, wild digimon peered nervously out of their hiding places to watch the group dance around. 

Eventually everyone got tired or (in Daisuke's case) nauseous enough to stop and lay in the grass. "I'm so glad that's over," Daisuke breathed, enjoying the summer air and the sun that was setting in the distance and breathing in the smell of the grass. 

"The battle or the dizziness?" V-mon wondered. 

"The battle," the boy replied. "I'm still dizzy." 

That was enough to nearly send the group into hysterics again, and it was awhile before they'd calmed down. Miyako sat up, peering around her. 

"Where are the others?" she wondered. "And what happened to Leomon?"

"They'll probably find their way out eventually," Hawkmon said, trying to keep his partner from worrying. 

"Yeah, probably," she agreed, stretching. "Let's say we wait for them and sleep outside tonight. Just one more day before we all have to head back to the _real_ world." 

"I'll agree to that plan," Iori declared solemnly. He'd enjoyed the short vacation – even if it hadn't been a pleasant one. 

"It has been nice to spend so much time outside," Armadimon agreed. "Even if we were surrounded by so much dust."   
"Hmm," Hikari murmured in agreement. She noticed Miyako sitting up again. She looked worried. "Miyako? What's wrong?" 

"I was just wondering what happened to Ken," the girl confessed. 

"Hey, that's right," Daisuke recalled, sitting up suddenly. "Where did he go off to?"   
"He must have come out of the dust with us, right?" V-mon asked. 

"Yeah, he must have," Hikari agreed. She sat up and peered in the direction of the forest and all around her. There was no sign of anyone except for a few small frolicking digimon for as far as the eye could see. And that was pretty far, being in the middle of a wide expanse of field. 

"I don't like this," Tailmon muttered under her breath. Only Hikari and Daisuke were able to hear that, but the feeling of fear had spread anyway. It was completely silent.

"I see something," Miyako said, softly. "Is it magic or do you see it, too?" 

Hikari peered in the direction the older girl was pointing and squinted. "I don't see anything," she confessed. "Must be magic."   
"What do you see?" Iori wondered. 

"A shadow," the girl replied.

"Shadow from what?" Armadimon questioned. "There's nothing here to cast a…shadow," he trailed off, realizing the evident answer to his question. 

"He's back," Daisuke whispered. "I can almost _feel_ it." 

Miyako looked at him strangely for a moment and got to her feet. "I wish I knew more about what I was doing," she said with a worried expression. 

"Miyako, don't do anything crazy," Hawkmon warned, flapping his wings so that he could confront his partner at eye-level. 

"I won't," Miyako assured him, but the bird was doubtful. Miyako and he tended to occasionally disagree on what would be classified as 'crazy.' But, with Miyako's assurance, Hawkmon cautiously landed once more on the ground. 

"You're going to do something, though," Hikari noted without question. 

"I'm going to _try_ something," she corrected slightly. 

Daisuke couldn't see the dark shadow, but he knew it was coming. "Do whatever it is – or try – whatever – just do it fast!"

"I think we can use our digivices to protect ourselves," Miyako replied. She pulled hers out of the pocket of her dress and held it out in front of her. The digivice immediately reacted to the oncoming darkness and began to glow brightly. 

"Good idea," Iori agreed, nodding his own agreement. He removed his own digivice and stood beside the girl. A moment later Hikari and Daisuke joined the line of protecting light as well and stood beside Miyako. 

As expected, the darkness could not get much farther than the edge of the light. Contrasted against the brightness of the digivices, everyone could see the shadow. And they could feel the chill in their bones as a figure they now all could recognize rose from the ground, appearing before them. 

He laughed when he saw them, and his voice was the same. Deep, dark, grating. "I am uninterested in _you_ four," he said in that inky voice. Miyako shut her eyes. The darkness around him, the dark swirling magic around him, was immense. 

"Do you _fear_ me?" he questioned. 

"I'm not afraid of you," Daisuke shouted, letting his courage take hold even when his brain was telling him to hide and remain quiet. "I know you can't step into the light. I know you controlled Devimon. I know you're not interested in us. So what _do_ you want?" 

"Devimon was a _mistake_ and nothing more," Demon replied, his deep voice indicating his disgust to be associated with that name. "His power was weak, and I knew he would fail." He laughed again, that sort of laugh that made everyone shudder again. "No, I'm merely here to deposit something I am through with." 

Miyako sensed something very different then, and turned back just in time to watch the cloaked demon disappear seamlessly into the ground. When the thick darkness surrounding him had also followed – a slower process – she was able to glimpse a figure, lying, weakened on the ground in the midst of the cloud. 

Daisuke recognized him first. He gasped aloud and dove into the dark cloud before anyone could stop him. "Daisuke!" Hikari shouted as he disappeared into the dark mist, but of course he didn't bother listening to even her.

Miyako waited another split second for the darkness to clear even more, and then dove after him, even though nearly every bone in her body was telling her to go hide under a rock. "Oh no!" she gasped. For a moment, the darkness surrounded her, choking her and whispering deadly things into her ears. 

_'You can't do this. You can't save him. You can't save any of them. Your magic is too weak to do anything with and you'll never learn to control it anyway. Just give up. Give up. You were raised to be a lady, not to go running through the dark after some freak like him. Just go back home. You're kidding yourself if you think you'll make a difference." _

"No!" Miyako shouted, as was the instinct in this occasion. "I won't!" The forcefulness of her words alone appeared to be enough to cause the darkness to back off for a moment, but Miyako wasn't finished. 

"I'm _not_ going to back off and leave my friends to die. I'm going to figure out how to control this magic, and I'm going to make a difference. I don't care _how_ I was raised, I _will_ do this!" Without even being conscious of it, she realized that her magic was unleashing. The bright colored aura around her appeared to be expanding, and the darkness was retreating even faster than it had been. Within moments it was gone, and Miyako felt an exhaustion like she'd never felt before. 

"Miyako," Hikari gasped, because somehow she could see the bright colors around her and she could sense the darkness. The older girl wavered slightly and then fell backwards, loosing consciousness. Hikari managed to catch her before she fell to the ground, holding her up carefully. 

"Is she all right?" Iori questioned as Hikari helped Miyako to lay on the grass. 

"I think so," she replied. "Just wore herself out. I have a feeling that was an incredible amount of magic. Especially for one so new to release." 

"Iori? A little help?" The black inky darkness was gone, and Daisuke stood in the center of where it had been, apparently unaffected. He, too, was trying to support a weakened figure. 

"What do you think happened to him?" Hikari wondered. But neither Iori nor Daisuke could answer that question. 

"I don't know," Iori admitted, shaking his head. "He doesn't seem to be hurt." 

"There's no blood," Armadimon noted. 

"Something bad," Daisuke stated simply. "Just bad."   
V-mon nodded in silent agreement with his partner. "Very bad," he agreed, noting Wormmon, who lay, just as un-moving, beside Ken. 

***

Dum, dum, dum…..

Gah, that wasn't that great…I always let myself down by the time I reach the battle! I have this HUGE idea in mind and it turns out to be kind of a let down. 

Anyhow, I hope you're not disappointed enough to leave, because there's still one more part left. ^_^


	13. Part Thirteen: It Begins

The Reign of Courage 

Part Thirteen: It Begins

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Hey, did I tell you guys I won the lottery? Yeah, so I went out and bought Digimon. Yup. It's all mine now!

Oh, all right. It's not. Darn it. I really wanted it to be. Going to ask for it for my birthday but I probably won't get it. However, this story _is_ mine, so keep that in mind! Enjoy!

***

Miyako peered bleakly into the mirror, only half-seeing her reflection. She sighed deeply. 

There was a knock at the door. "Miyako?" Sora's voice called. She pushed it open and peered around the frame. "You coming?" 

With another sigh, the younger girl nodded. "Yeah," she replied, but made no move to step away from the mirror. "Coming." 

Sora was unconvinced. She shut the door behind her and sat on the bed. "What's wrong?" 

Miyako finally pulled herself from the mirror and looked in the older girl's direction. "I'm just worried, I suppose," she replied. "I can't seem to get in the mood for a celebration." 

"Worried about Ken?" Sora asked with a knowing tone, but her voice was sympathetic now, instead of teasing. 

"Very," she replied, sinking into a chair. "The way he looked then, Sora – it was just horrible. And the magic…the darkness was so deep." 

"I'm sure he'll be fine," her friend assured her. "He's got doctors at home to help him, you know. He just needs some rest." 

"I should have gone with him." 

Sora shook her head. "No," she disagreed. "You should stay here and enjoy yourself. He wouldn't want you to worry about him when you should be having fun, right?" 

Miyako was silent for a long moment. "I suppose not," she agreed reluctantly. 

"That's better," Sora agreed. "Now where's your brush? Mimi will kill both of us if you look like that all night." She gestured to Miyako's hair, which was appearing rather unkempt at the moment. 

The girl looked in the direction of the cabinet on the opposite side of her bed, where the object in question lay. For a brief moment, she let the pale, half-invisible aura around her glow brighter around her left hand. Then, with the few days practice and studying with Koushiro to guide her, she managed to extend the colors out. Tendrils of color grasped the brush tightly. Then, Miyako pulled the colored aura of magic back inward towards her, dragging the brush with her. To her, the colors of the magic were astonishing and beautiful. 

To Sora and anyone without the magic sight, it appeared as though the brush had floated across the air. "Amazing," she noted. "You learned to do that after only a few days." 

"Koushiro says I'm a fast learner," Miyako replied, taking enough pride in her actions to smile slightly as she began to brush her hair. 

***

Daisuke tugged uncomfortably at his collar and frowned at himself in the mirror. His usual attire was fancy enough without being plain, but this outfit was nearly suffocating. Still, it was required for ceremonies or celebrations such as this one. 

The collar of his shirt was tight around his neck. A frilly white ruffle that was in fashion at the time and he thought looked ridiculous extended down his chest and the front of his shirt. A dark blue jacket that Mimi told him looked adorable on him was buttoned where the ruffles ended, and a matching color of pants that were too tight around the waist assured that he wouldn't be anything to laugh at in terms of fashion. At least, not according to popular opinion. A pair of shiny leather shoes completed his attire and pinched his toes. 

"If this wasn't a Very Important ceremony, I'd refuse to wear this," he'd warned Mimi over and over again when she'd helped him to select his outfit. Mimi had only laughed and said that he looked adorable or dashing or something of the sort and that she was certain Hikari would think the same. The last comment was enough to make him stop complaining, but not enough to make him like the outfit.

V-mon watched his partner adjust his collar for the tenth time that evening. "Are you choking yet?" he questioned, recalling one of Daisuke's earlier complaints. 

"Almost," he replied. "But I think I might live through the evening. I'd better go find Jun." He glanced toward his partner. "Ready?" 

"Yup." The blue digimon had only to take a bath, and he was relieved he wasn't required to wear anything for the ceremony. He followed his partner from the room and down the hall. 

Jun wasn't ready yet, and one of the maids she'd coerced into helping her opened the door. She had a horrified look on her face, and Daisuke smiled cheerfully and whispered that she could escape, which she did quite quickly. 

"What's going on?" he asked the girls as they quickly dashed from the room, looking harried, but they were in too much of a hurry to reply. 

His sister emerged from her room into the parlor she'd been sharing with Sora and Miyako. She was dressed in a pale purple dress that actually looked quite tasteful and beautiful, to her brother's relief. Mimi's influence was visible in the outfit. The sleeves were long and wide, the front of the dress had some amount of ruffling, and the skirt was wide. All popular fashions at the moment, according to Mimi. 

"Where'd everyone go?" she questioned. Daisuke shrugged innocently and peered at his reflection in his shoes. "Oh well. Help me then. Tie this?"

Daisuke nodded. Having an older sister who tended to scare off the help had taught him a few things about women's clothing. One of the main things was that it often took quite some time to get on. Not that his own attire was much easier. So he had no qualms about pulling tight the lacing in the back of his sister's dress and tying it at just the right tension. Too loose and it was liable to fall off, but too tight and she would complain and find difficulty breathing. Much practice had been required to learn this skill. 

"How's that?" he asked when he was done. 

"Perfect." Jun smiled at him pleasantly. "Daisuke?" 

"Yes?" 

There was a moment of silence as the elder sibling tried to think of the words to say precisely what she wanted. "I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're all right." Upon seeing her brother's confused expression, she went on. "I was sort of worried about you before. You know, when you all went off to find Sora," she elaborated. "I was…concerned that you could be injured. Or worse." 

He grinned sheepishly and looked at his shoes again. His reflection peered up at him once more. "Thanks," he mumbled softly. He and Jun were close, but they didn't usually talk like that. 

"I guess I didn't realize until now how dangerous this whole Chosen business is," Jun confessed, not really noticing her brother's discomfort. "I didn't want to lose more of my family." 

Daisuke blinked in surprise. "Jun – I was in more danger a few months ago," he replied pragmatically. "I was in a dungeon for a week. My life was more at risk then than now. I mean, sure, I was fighting, but I had V-mon on my side and everyone else." 

"I know," she replied, shrugging and now peering at her own shoes. "It's just that the danger keeps getting worse. What happens if – if next time you don't _come_ home? Or…" she trailed off. 

"Or what?" Daisuke asked. She shook her head, but he could imagine what she was thinking. _'Or come home the way Mother did,'_ he thought grimly. _'In a coffin.'_

***

Taichi, too, was examining himself in the mirror. He was dressed in an outfit much like Daisuke's, only with a lighter color blue jacket and pants. Taichi, however, was not worried about the state of his appearance. He was more concerned with something else. 

"Taichi?" a voice questioned, and his mother peered into the room. "Are you ready?" 

He shook his head. "I don't think I ever _will_ be, Mother," he replied, not bothering to tear himself away from his reflection. 

She stepped behind him. "I know that. You'll always be my little boy," she replied. "But you're not. You're growing up." She smiled slightly. "I always thought this day would be harder on me than you." 

"I didn't expect it to come so soon," he sighed. "I thought I would be older. More prepared." 

"I know," his mother agreed, stepping away from him. "So did I."

"Mother," he began, finally turning away from the mirror and facing her. "What happened? What happened to Father?" 

"I'm – not sure," she admitted. "He never really told me what was going on in his head. I just knew what he wanted and I didn't disagree." With a sigh, the Queen glanced towards the window and the outside world. "I suppose I never thought he would do anything to hurt any of you. Especially his own children. And he assured me that you _weren't_ being hurt. He just wanted to find some answers." 

"Answers? About evolution?" Taichi asked. 

She nodded. "He found this prophecy – this poem. It said that there were twelve that needed to sacrifice their powers in order for he and his partner to gain them. He said that it wouldn't hurt. He knew right away one of them was Miyako, and figured that it would be easier to send Leomon for her rather than worry about the details. She wouldn't be hurt, he told me, so I went along with it. When it became evident that two of the Chosen in the prophecy were our own children – I was more hesitant. I didn't know you'd be hurt. If I had, I never would have gone along with it." 

"But then there were complications," he put in. 

"Yes. Like that Dark Bandit fellow. And Daisuke. And then he got caught up in trying to defeat them, trying to break him of his spirit. When I knew his mother was dying, I begged him to go easy on him. He swore he did, but I knew that he wasn't. I saw him, and I was just as horrified as the rest of you. That wasn't going easy, and I knew it. When you asked me, on the hill, I knew that I might be considered some sort of traitor, but I had to help you. I wouldn't let anyone else be hurt." 

"Mother -," Taichi began. "I know Father will always be hard to talk about between us. But I want to remember him for how he _was_. When I was younger. I have so many happy memories." 

"We'll save the best ones, Taichi," she assured him. "Only the good ones." 

***

Iori, dressed in a relatively simple beige and green outfit without ruffles, located Daisuke in the hall outside of the Throne room. He was talking with his sister, Miyako, Sora, and a few other guests he didn't recognize. Iori pushed his way through the crowd, apologizing politely to each of them, and tapped the older boy on the arm. 

"Excuse me, ladies," he apologized, bowing politely. "But I need Daisuke for something quite important. If you don't mind."

"No, no, go ahead and take him," Jun joked, half pushing her brother in the direction of the intruder. "He's not needed here. "

"Ha. Go ahead and talk about me while I'm gone," Daisuke replied, good naturedly. He was used to his sister's jests. Once they had left the hall and were in a less populated area, however, his expression turned serious. "What's wrong?" 

"The Lord originally selected to escort the Princess has fallen ill," Iori reported. "Usually, in a coronation ceremony, the siblings of the new King are escorted by their spouses, other siblings, or a visiting dignitary. In this case it was a Lord from a nearby Kingdom. However, he was rather aged and fell ill, so he's unable to attend. Hikari has no other siblings, and it's impossible to get another foreign dignitary to agree on such short notice." 

"What do you want me to do?" Daisuke asked, confused. 

"Be the escort," Iori replied. 

"But - ," Daisuke protested. "I don't know what to do!" 

"Relax," Iori assured him. "Mimi will explain everything to you." He opened the door that he'd been leading Daisuke to all along. 

"Oh good, Iori, you've found him," Mimi peered up from where she was helping Takeru to adjust his collar. "Daisuke, have a seat and try to relax." 

"Mimi, I'm not sure I'm the right person for this job," he stated, and remained standing.

"Relax, of course you are," Mimi replied, barely noticing his discomfort as she fastened the final clasp of Takeru's collar. Takeru pulled loosely at the collar and was pleased to see he could breathe – barely. 

"What job?" he questioned. 

"They want me to escort the Princess," Daisuke replied, tugging at his own collar. "What are you doing here?" 

Takeru shrugged. "I can't get this thing buttoned on my own and I've no idea where Yamato is so I turned to Mimi for help. I thought the escort was supposed to be Lord something or other?" 

"Lord something or other is Lord Kyuka," Mimi put in, slightly scolding in her tone. "He's a very respected Lord from a nearby country – I forget which one. Unfortunately, he's also rather old and prone to illness. He fell ill. Iori and I discussed it at length and decided Daisuke was the best replacement." 

"I still haven't figured out why," Daisuke noted. 

"You were the only one we knew we could convince on short notice," Iori explained. 

"Why not just find another dignitary person or something?" Takeru asked. "I'm sure they'd jump at the chance." 

"Yes, but they wouldn't know what to do." 

"I don't know what to do either!" Daisuke half-shouted. 

"Relax, I'll tell you," Mimi replied. "It's very easy. In a little while, all the guests will be in the throne room. A whole party of people will go first. Mostly dignitaries and such. Ambassadors, advisors. Iori will be in that group. Then the Queen goes. She's alone because she has no spouse and that's symbolic in some way. Then you and Hikari. It's simple. All you need to do is walk down to the end of the corridor with her. Then you stand beside her while the whole ceremony happens with Taichi. Afterwards, we'll move into the State Dining Room a few doors down. Again, we'll let everyone assemble so that you get to make an entrance. You'll sit beside Hikari at the head table. Talk with the others and try not to make a fool of yourself." 

"Don't spill anything while you're eating," Takeru advised. He picked up the egg that was still his partner from a nearby chair. 

Daisuke appeared pale. "Sit – at the head table?" he asked. "Walk – down that whole – long carpet? In front of everyone?" 

"It won't be that bad," Takeru tried to assure him. "Right, Mimi? Just smile and act happy. It'll be over before you know it." 

"I think – I could use some water," Daisuke managed to stammer. Iori left the room to fetch some, and Mimi helped him to sit down in a chair. 

"You'll be fine, Daisuke. You're great with people, and Hikari will be glad she gets to talk with you instead of Lord Whatever," Takeru continued.   
"Lord Kyuka," Mimi corrected. "She will. That's why we chose you. She won't mind being able to sit next to someone who's a little closer to her in age." 

"How old _is_ this guy?" Takeru wondered. 

"Lord _Kyuka_ is almost seventy five, I think," Mimi said. "Takeru, why don't you go see if you can find V-mon? I'm sure there are a few girls out there that need your escorting, right?" 

"Right," Takeru replied taking the hint. He left, and Iori returned with the water. 

Daisuke drank the cup in one gulp. "Thanks," he replied, his voice still hoarse. He unbuttoned his collar so that he would be able to breathe. "What do the digimon do in this ceremony?" he wondered. 

"Either walk beside their partners or in pairs behind them," Mimi replied. "Tailmon and V-mon can decide what to do when they're there." 

He wiped his brow with the palm of his hand. Iori handed him a handkerchief. "You'll be fine," he assured him, but Daisuke was not so sure. 

***

Yamato tapped lightly on the door and then opened it, knowing that Taichi had a tendency to ignore door knocks even when he wasn't under pressure. He was slightly surprised to find his friend in a conversation with his mother. Taichi and the Queen had not spoken much in the last few months. 

"Jyou reports only a few minutes left before the ceremony," he relayed. "He's trying to convince everyone to get into the room now, and Koushiro's got the band to begin playing, so they'll be dancing soon." 

The Queen nodded. "Thanks for the information, Yamato," she replied. "I suppose I should go get ready, then." 

Taichi nodded. "Thanks, Mother," he stated appreciatively as she left. 

"You almost ready?" Yamato asked. 

"Yes," he replied. "Just incredibly nervous, that's all." 

Yamato nodded. "My parents arrived this morning," he stated without preamble. "Together, for once. They seem to be getting along. I haven't seen Takeru all day, but he's likely to be surprised. Maybe having both of us away, they get along better." 

"Maybe," Taichi nodded. 

The blond boy sighed. "I feel like I'm getting so much older," he confessed. "My father was talking about the manor becoming mine soon, and Takeru and I getting married and inheriting his title and all that. Adult things. I feel like just yesterday I was spending my time running through fields without a care in the world." 

"That was yesterday," Taichi noted with a grin. 

"Yeah, but it was different. This time I went for a walk because I had things on my mind. About this last battle and about the future. There's always some issue to bother me. It used to be so much more simple." 

"I know what you mean," the other agreed. "Just listen to your parents and worry about nothing. They protected us from everything." Taichi glanced towards his balcony. "Now I have to worry about protecting others. And making my own decisions." 

"Don't even think about going out there and brooding for another few hours!" Yamato warned. "I'll drag you up to that throne even if you're kicking and screaming the whole way!" 

"You'd have to get some help," the other countered with a grin. He sobered again, though. "No, it's too cold to worry about standing out there. Now that it's getting colder I'll have to find somewhere else to do my thinking." 

"Brooding, you mean," Yamato corrected with a mischievous grin of his own as he opened the door. "Come on, let's go. Can't be late, you know." 

***

Hikari peered at herself again in the mirror. Behind her, Tailmon sighed loudly. "You look exactly the same, Hikari. Nothing's changed since the last time you've looked." 

"I know," her partner replied. "But I just had to make sure. It's not everyday that your brother becomes king and you turn sixteen." 

"You've been sixteen for nearly two months," Tailmon reminded her. 

"I know," Hikari replied. "But you know what I mean."   
Before Tailmon could reply to that, there was a knock on the door. Yamato poked his head in. "Ready, Princess?" he questioned. 

Hikari nodded. "Yes," she replied. "Are we ready to start already?" 

"Yes. If you'll come with me, I'll escort you to your escort." He held the door while she stepped out, and they walked down the hall together, Tailmon following behind. 

"You're not?" 

He shook his head. "No, I will be spending the evening mingling with the guests, looking out for evil intruders, and avoiding my parents, who arrived this morning. I don't know _who_ your escort is, to be honest. I heard that it was an old Lord, and then Mimi said he had fallen ill and sent Iori off to find a replacement. I don't know who he found."

Hikari breathed a sigh of relief. "The original Lord was very old and boring," she stated. "I hope the replacement is more interesting." 

"As do I," Yamato agreed. "Nothing bores me more than seeing someone else bored. I'd volunteer my brother, but I'm afraid he doesn't fit the requirements." 

She had to laugh at that. "Have you seen _my_ brother?" she asked. 

He nodded. "Nervous but well. He was talking with your mother when I went in a few minutes ago." 

"Mother?" Hikari repeated. "She and Taichi haven't talked in quite some time. I'm glad they're getting along." 

"So am I," Yamato replied. They had reached the corridor outside the Throne Room. A few people were assembled beside the main doors, but the bulk of the people were inside. Soft music could be heard coming from inside. "Here we are," he replied. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll find someone to find your escort." He smiled pleasantly before departing. 

Hikari surveyed the scene. Currently, the assembly of dignitaries was organizing itself in front of the door. The music behind the door ended, and she could hear clapping from the people before the next song began. 

"When this song ends, we march!" she heard Iori announce to the dignitaries and officials, and they began to hurriedly to move themselves into formation. 

***

Daisuke tugged impatiently at his re-fastened collar. "This wouldn't be quite so nerve-wracking if I could just _breathe_," he muttered to V-mon, who stood beside him, looking almost as nervous as his partner.   
"Hey, here comes the official people," V-mon observed, noting as Taichi and his mother both entered the cramped hallway. "The _really_ official people, that is." 

"The guest of honor, so to speak," Daisuke agreed. "I wonder if he'd be mad at me." 

"For what?" V-mon wondered. 

"I don't know, brothers are always supposed to be mad at the people interested in their sister. I'm _escorting_ his sister at an official ceremony. I wonder if he knows that," Daisuke wondered, peering at Taichi from across the crowded room. Thankfully, Taichi was involved with several other people and didn't notice Daisuke, so he didn't ask why he was there and not inside with the others. 

"I'd say hope not. Let him find out when it's too late. He can't get mad in front of all these people," V-mon advised, and his partner agreed. 

It was Mimi who finally located him and dragged him through the small crowd to Hikari. "I've been looking all over for you!" she told him. "Where did you go?" 

"I didn't go anywhere," he protested. "I've been right here the entire time." 

Mimi shook her head in disagreement, but before she could say anything, she pushed through the last of the people and Hikari was standing in front of her. "Your escort, Princess," she announced, and then was gone. 

Hikari was dressed in a light pink gown. There were the ruffles that Jun's dress had, the wide skirt and sleeves, the shiny leather shoes. She wore her hair half pulled from her face, half loosely hanging. A strand of pearls hung loosely around her neck, and a few silver bracelets were on her wrists. Daisuke felt his throat close in nervousness again and forced himself to swallow. 

"Hello," he said pleasantly, hiding that nervous fear. "I believe we've met before." 

Hikari blinked, obviously astonished at the choice in escort. "Daisuke? What are you doing here?" she blurted before she could stop herself. Embarrassed, she covered her mouth and blushed. "I didn't mean to say that - ," she apologized. "I just was – surprised." 

"So was I," he replied, and proceeded to explain the story of the sick Lord Kyuka and the frantic search for another escort and Mimi's decision. He would have gone on to explain his nervousness, but just then the music stopped. 

The Princess took a deep breath, and Daisuke realized he didn't have to explain to her about feeling nervous. She was most likely just as nervous as he. He smiled reassuringly even though he didn't feel it, and took her arm. 

It took a few moments for the assembled dignitaries to finish assembling themselves. The doors were opened wide by two attendants within the room, and then the group made its way down the long center corridor. Soft music played as they walked, and the crowd of people stared in astonishment or respect. The doors closed then, and it was a few moments before they opened again. 

Then the Queen made her way down the corridor, her partner Elecmon proudly beside her. The music changed abruptly to a more dignified tune as she walked, and the door shut behind her as well. 

Daisuke took a deep breath and smiled again at Hikari. She smiled nervously back. "Don't worry, you'll be fine," he whispered. 

"I know," she replied. "And so will you." 

When the door opened again, the Queen had seated herself on the throne, and the crowd was eagerly awaiting the next entrants. Daisuke took a step forward, and Hikari stepped as well. V-mon and Tailmon had apparently decided how to walk, and fell in step behind their partners. V-mon gripped Tailmon's arm in imitation of his partner, and Tailmon smiled cheerfully back at him. 

At first Daisuke thought that he would be astonished by the amount of people in the room, but he found that he wasn't. It was impossible for him to tell one person from the next, and the faces all blurred together. Their clothes blurred into one long mass of colors, and he felt slightly dizzy. He shut his eyes momentarily and concentrated on walking to the end of the extraordinarily long carpet. 

Somehow, he was able to notice his sister's face peek out from within the blurred faces, and she smiled at him. Slightly more comfortable now, he smiled back, and then he saw Takeru, who was giving him an encouraging smile, and Miyako, who looked somewhat astonished, but smiled supportively as well. 

After an excruciatingly long walk, they arrived at the end. Hikari took her usual seat on the throne, and Tailmon stood in front of her. Daisuke took his appointed spot standing beside her on the right, and V-mon stood next to him. He felt almost as though his legs would turn to gelatin.

"See? Wasn't so hard," Hikari whispered to him, and he felt a little better. 

A moment later, the band struck up the official tune and the attendants at the end of the corridor pulled open the massive doors to admit the final entrant to the room. Taichi looked nervous at first, but when he stepped into the room, he'd plastered on a confident smile. He grinned at some of the partygoers, and made his way at a fairly quick pace to the end of the rug. 

Daisuke half expected him to take his seat at the main throne, which was empty, but he didn't. Instead, the soon-to-be-King stood at the edge of the raised area. 

Then the Queen stood from her seat and stepped to the edge. One of the dignitaries who had been in the first procession stepped forward from his place around the raised platform and handed the official scepter to the Queen. 

"My son," she stated then, pitching her voice loud enough so the entire huge hall could hear. "The time has come for you to take on the role your father once filled. Are you prepared to fill that role?" 

"I am," he replied confidently, also speaking loud enough to be audible to the entire room. 

"Then kneel, Prince, my son," she stated, and he did so. "And then rise the new King." 

Another official stepped forward and a heavy golden crown was placed on Taichi's head. A regal robe was draped over his shoulder by another, and then he stood. 

The room burst into applause as Taichi seated himself in the seat that was once his father's. 

***

Miyako took her seat at the table in the State Dining room. Sora sat on one side of her, Takeru on the other. The rest of the guests were assembling themselves at tables as well. Seating had been assigned, with several officials and advisors leading each guest to their appointed place. She thought it interesting to note that eight of the twelve chosen were seated at the table closest to the main table. Koushiro sat on Takeru's opposite side, then Jyou, Yamato, Mimi, and finally Iori. 

Since the rest of the people appeared to be talking, Miyako felt safe enough to lean over to ask Koushiro a question. "I saw magic around the scepter, the crown, and the robe," she informed him. "Is that protective magic?" 

He nodded. "Yes," he replied. "The spells are renewed each time a new sovereign is crowned in Yagami. Protective magic, luck charms, health. Meant to insure the long life of the ruler who carries them, and the prosperity of the kingdom." 

Miyako would have asked more about the spells, but just then the room fell silent again, and the party at the head table entered. This time their entrance was more informal. The visiting dignitaries and officials who had walked ahead now sat at a table on the opposite side of the head table, and then the others assembled themselves. 

To call it a head table was actually wrong, Miyako noted, because in this case all the tables were connected. It was more like one big table which surrounded the entire dining hall. Taichi sat at the center of the head of the U-shaped table, and his mother and Hikari sat on either side of him. Daisuke sat beside Hikari, still looking somewhat in a daze. 

"Let the eating begin!" Taichi stated, half in jest, and then the servants began to bring a massive army of food. The room laughed at his casual manner, but all were eager to begin. He whispered to Agumon, who sat between him and Hikari, and the yellow digimon looked surprised for a moment. Taichi nodded, and the digimon shrugged and climbed out of his chair. 

Sora was peering over the food that was set on the table, preparing to eat, when Agumon appeared behind her and tapped on her arm. She turned around in surprise. 

"Agumon?" 

"I hope you don't mind the intrusion," he apologized. "But you've been offered another seat." 

Sora blinked and peered up at Taichi, who was grinning happily at her. "Are you sure that's allowed?" she asked. 

Miyako elbowed her friend. "He's the King now!" she reminded her. "He decides what's allowed!" 

"Oh. Still…," she was hesitant. She glanced at him again, and now his eyes were now asking the question, half-pleading. 

"Don't make me go back there alone!" Agumon pleaded. "You don't know what he's like!" 

Sora had to laugh. "I know exactly what he's like!" she reminded him. 

"Oh, just go, Sora," Takeru urged. 

"You'll have fun," Miyako added. 

"I'd don't know," she hesitated. 

"Sora," Yamato spoke up. "Just go. There's no reason not to." 

Finally, she agreed. "Oh, all right. It can't hurt, can it?" 

"Certainly not," Piyomon agreed cheerfully. 

 So a few moments later, Sora slipped into the seat beside Taichi, her heart pounding hard. "Are you sure this is all right?" she asked. 

"It's fine," he assured her, smiling. She felt a little less anxious. "Don't worry, I'm scared as hell, too," he confessed. 

She laughed, nervous laughter, but enough to break the ice. "It was a good ceremony," she assured him. 

"You sure?" he asked, reaching for a bowl of food and spooning some on to his plate. "I thought that stupid rug would never end. There have to be a thousand people here!" 

Sora laughed again. "Only about six hundred, I think," she assured him. "Some weren't able to stay for the dinner." She took the bowl from him and spooned some to her plate before passing it to her partner, who sat beside her. 

"Oh, good, I feel better then," he said, taking a bite from his food. He peered to his opposite side where his sister was immersed in her own conversation. "Did that surprise you?" he questioned.

"Daisuke as an escort? A bit," she replied. "Daisuke and Hikari having the relationship they do, no." 

He sighed and took a drink. "It did me, I confess," he replied. 

Sora swallowed the bite she'd taken. "It did? Why?" 

"I don't know. They were never close when we were younger. She and Takeru used to be much closer. But then they started growing more apart, and Daisuke and she grew closer." 

"If I remember correctly, Daisuke and Takeru had something of a rivalry over her for some time," she recalled. "Must have been about four years ago." 

He laughed then. "That's right. When their silly duels began. They would decide to fight over her and neither one of them would ever win. Hikari paid no attention to them at first. Then she would do things to make them jealous. Spend more time talking with Daisuke to make Takeru jealous. Walk with Takeru to make Daisuke jealous. Father was nearly pulling his hair out."

"I remember," Piyomon spoke up. "He was going to jump in and choose for her, but your mother reminded him she was not quite old enough to marry anyway." 

Taichi nodded. "She was only twelve. They all were. I don't think anyone thinks about long-term like that at twelve." 

"I try not to think about it now," Sora confessed. 

"Same here," he replied, sighing. 

"See?" Hikari was saying to Daisuke. "It's not too bad, being in the spotlight and all. You get nervous, but after a while you get used to having people looking at you all the time." 

"It's not too bad," he admitted. "I guess having friends helps, right?" 

"It does," she agreed. "I don't mind all of them watching me all the time as long as I know I can have some time to myself and some time with friends." 

Daisuke nodded in agreement and took a bite of his food as he thought about the friends he had. A flash of concern rushed over him for Ken, who was at that moment, he knew, laying at home in bed and most likely dreadfully ill. He sighed. 

"What's wrong?" Hikari asked. 

"Nothing," he said, turning back to his food. "Hikari," he began. 

After a moment of silence: "Yes?" she asked. 

He looked down for a moment and then pushed a cheerful thought into his head. "Nothing. Never mind."   
  


Not long after the food was finished, the band (which had also been relocated from the throne room) began to play some music. As was customary, the main honoree was allowed the first dance. Dropping his clunky new accessories, Taichi managed to nervously stutter out a request while Sora turned bright red. He took a deep breath and asked in a more steady tone, and then she managed to respond politely. 

So, while the entire room looked on, Sora and Taichi glided over the floor. Both felt as though they were in a completely different world. "I'm sorry," he apologized once they were dancing. "That was a pathetic way to ask you. Next time I'll try to be more dashing and charming." 

She laughed, but not unkindly. "Don't worry," she assured him. "It's not _how_ it's asked, but _who_ does the asking." 

"Is that so? Does that mean you only said yes so you wouldn't embarrass me?" 

"No," she replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I said yes because I know your parents insisted you learn to dance and I knew I wouldn't have my toes stepped on." 

"Funny. Very funny," he noted with some sarcasm. "I guess I should thank Mother for that, shouldn't I?" 

"She knew you'd use it one day," Sora replied. There was a moment of silence between them, and then the music ended. "You dance wonderfully," she told him. "And I said yes because it's _you_." 

He smiled, and it was a genuinely happy smile. "You dance fabulously, too," he replied. As they made their way back to their seats, the band stayed quiet.

Taichi poked Daisuke in the back as he passed. "I think the birthday girl deserves a dance," he whispered. 

"So do I," the younger boy managed to get out without stammering. "Hikari? Will you dance?" 

"Certainly," she replied. As they stood, the band poised for the music to begin, and it did as soon as they got to the floor. 

"I want to apologize in advance for stepping on your toes," he warned her. "I'm not as good a dancer as your brother." 

"It's all right," Hikari assured him. "I have strong toes." 

"How does it feel to be sixteen?" he wondered. 

"Should have asked me that two months ago when I first turned sixteen," she replied cheerfully. "It feels no different than fifteen." 

"Do you look forward to the gifts?" 

"I suppose," she said after a moment of thought. "Sometimes there are some really nice ones. But I don't expect them. I appreciate the effort, though." 

There was a pause in conversation. Hikari sensed the same silence she'd seen before. "You're worried, aren't you?" she questioned. 

"A little," he confessed. "Mostly I was thinking about my mother." 

"She would have liked this?" Hikari asked. 

"Would have loved it," he replied. "I think Jun and my father miss her terribly. I wish my father had come today. But I guess you're not much in the mood for parties after you lose someone you've spent your whole life with." 

"I wouldn't be," Hikari agreed. "I find myself liking this day, and then I think about Father. It's a wonderful day, sometimes I wish he could be here to enjoy it. But if he was here, we wouldn't be enjoying it. And – as much as I don't like what he did, I miss him." 

The music ended then. "You're a wonderful dancer, Princess," he said. "Your father would have been proud of you." 

"Thank you," she replied. "And you're not as bad as you say you are. Your mother would be pleased, too." 

***

The dancing continued well into the night, and many of the guests who had not planned to spend the night had to, because by the time the party came to a close it was very late and some had drunk too much wine to see straight. 

Thankfully, Iori and Mimi had prepared for this and set aside quite a few rooms for many of the guests to sleep in. Some had to share rooms with people they didn't know, but extra cots and beds were set up to accompany the extras. 

Yamato led a few men into a room and shut the door behind him. His head was beginning to hurt and he was very tired. He wandered back to the Dining Hall to see it mostly empty. Servants had begun the cleanup, and Mimi was helping. Takeru and Miyako stood in one corner, talking, and Daisuke and Hikari still sat at the head table. He suspected Iori was still helping some of the guests to a room, and Jyou and Koushiro had retreated or gone to bed. There was no sign of Taichi or Sora, however. 

Not wanting to disturb the apparently involved conversation between Daisuke and Hikari, Yamato made his way through the mess to his brother and Miyako. "Still awake?" he asked. 

"I'm still too excited to sleep," Miyako explained. "This was amazing." 

"It was a pretty good party," Takeru agreed. 

"Join me for some air?" Yamato suggested, and they both agreed. He managed to drag Mimi from the cleaning, ("The servants are supposed to clean up, Mimi, so you don't have to,") and they sat on a stone wall not far from the castle. 

"It was a success," Miyako assured Mimi. "I think everyone had a good time." 

"Especially the honored ones," Takeru noted. "Did you see how they danced?" 

Mimi nodded. "I knew there was something there," she agreed. "It won't be long before this kingdom has a new Queen." 

Miyako sighed, leaning back and peering at the stars. "I never would have thought that. But she'll do the job well."   
"She will," Yamato agreed. "And I have to say that I've never seen him so happy before today. Not in a long time." 

"He's seemed very worried and tired lately," Takeru agreed. "I think Sora's safety made him feel a _lot_ better." 

"You should have seen him before the ceremony," Yamato recalled. "A bundle of nerves. I was sure he was going to fall apart or something. And before we left here last week. Just stood there on the balcony, brooding for hours." 

"You want to see nervous you should have seen Daisuke today," Takeru countered. "Turned white as a sheet, right Mimi?" 

"He did," Mimi nodded. 

"Why?" Miyako wondered. 

"I sent Iori to find him and get him to be the escort tonight," Mimi recalled. "He was shaking and stuttering and could hardly speak for a good half hour." 

Takeru nodded in agreement. "I thought he was going to faint. But he pulled himself together. Didn't look too bad." 

"Good recovery," Yamato agreed. 

"Doesn't it feel good to be at peace for a change?" Mimi questioned. "I mean, I know we're probably not done fighting yet, but it feels good to not have something hanging over us as a threat." 

"It does," Takeru agreed. 

"Won't last for long," Miyako sighed. 

"It won't?" Yamato asked. 

She shook her head. "That darkness isn't done yet." 

"No," Takeru noted, peering at the egg in his hands. "It's not. I'm sure it's still out there." 

"It is," Miyako insisted. "You didn't see it the way I did. The way there was this – cloud – around Demon." She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. "It was so scary…"

"Well, whatever it is, we'll be sure to get rid of it, right?" Takeru asked. 

Miyako was silent for a moment. "I hope so," she said. "I really hope so." 

***

The hall was dark, and the candle she carried did little to light the way. It was late in the night and Lady Ichijouji was almost certain she'd heard a noise coming from her son's room. She carried a bucket and cloth in the opposite hand. Ken had had such a fever the past few days. Though she was tired, she was reluctant to leave him alone with the nurse. 

She pushed open the door to the room. It was sparsely furnished. Ken hadn't spent much time at home in a long while. Not since Osamu had died. There was an iron-frame bed with blankets on it, a dark-colored rug, a few tattered curtains, but that was all. His bedroom was located in an old wing of the very old mansion. 

Ken had always been pale, and now he appeared even paler than before. The fever made him weak, and he hadn't bothered to awaken since he'd been home. Sweat covered his forehead. His mother made herself comfortable in the chair beside the bed and wiped his face with the cool cloth. She dipped it in the bucket of water and then squeezed in carefully before wiping him off again. 

He moaned softly in his sleep and turned his head a few times. "No," he whispered, so softly his mother barely heard it. 

"It's all right, Ken, I'm here," she told him, carefully administering the washcloth again. If only he'd wake up. Then all would be better. The doctor's couldn't figure out what was wrong. Just that he had a fever and was weak. The letter sent from the palace explained very little of what had happened to her son. With few clues, all Lady Ichijouji could do was try to bring his fever down and make him as comfortable as possible. 

He slept restlessly through the night. His mother fell asleep in the chair beside the bed. When she awakened in the morning, he was gone.

***

Yes! It's finally over! Yeah! ::does victory dance:: Okay, anyone predict the ending? I think I threw in enough romance for about twelve chapters there, so no one better complain! ::glares around threateningly:: ^_~

Ah well. A few notes now. Kyuka (the old Lord who's supposed to escort Hikari) is Japanese for "old family." At least according to my dictionary, which is pathetic, but sadly, all I have. I just needed a name for a boring old man. 

And I lied, I know, about the Daikari. I said there wouldn't be much more in this story. Oh well. You should know by now not to trust me. I didn't lie about the next story though. There WILL be more in that. 

What else will there be? Well, I'm sure you all can guess who the evil guy will be in the next installment. I have a few titles set aside but I won't tell you them yet because I haven't decided. There will be tons of fighting with the evil guy. There will be more action in there than there is in this one (it was incredibly slow moving in terms of action). There will be more Daikari and maybe Tai x Sora stuff. ^_^ Kenyako fans, you'll just have to hang in there….No! I will NOT give out spoilers. Will NOT! ::pulls arm away from keyboard::

The next story will take place about five months or so after this one. I can't guarantee when it will be out. As usual, the beginning is the hardest part, and I have to finish Evil's New Claim (MUST finish) and I have another story I want to write. Plus, of course, real life keeps intruding. Dang it. Dang School. Dang Work. Dang Family. Oh well. Hope you all enjoyed this! Thanks to my readers and reviewers for all your wonderful comments, you're all great and supportive and this wouldn't have been finished _nearly_ as fast without your support. Applaud yourselves. ^_^ 


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